June 2007
In a sobering example of how precarious head injuries can be, and how innocent the activity can be which causes them, a 13-year-old girl earned a trip to the intensive care unit, after hitting her head while riding the teacups at a local amusement park.

Most people are familiar with the classic children’s ride, usually
found in the kiddie section of fairs and amusement parks. You sit
on it and spin yourself around while it spins around. It wasn’t clear exactly how the young woman, Natashia West, was injured on the ride.

They don’t know where she hit her head, but it appears she simply knocked herself against the seat backing. State officials inspected the Magic Teacup ride Friday, and found no mechanical problems, according to State spokesman Terence McElroy. The accident occurred at Boomers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The teenager remained hospitalized and sedated with serious head injuries. “All I want is for her to be the same little girl she was,” remarked her father, Donnie Jackson.