A young California man has miraculously survived after falling from a water slide at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Valencia, California.
The unidentified 19-year-old was riding the Black Snake Summit at about 4:15 p.m. when the incident occurred. He made his way up to Venom Drop, one of the three 75-foot-high group of slides on the attraction.
The Venom Drop allows riders to go down at an almost 90 degree vertical angle. The man passed other people in line and went down the ride head-first on his stomach. Riders are required to go down feet-first while on their back.
The man wasn't cleared by lifeguards to go down the slide. About halfway down the ride, he fell off and landed on the ground. Some reported that he hit a barbed wire fence.
"Everyone in line for the ride saw the fall take place," Robert Shank, a witness who saw the fall, told KCBS-TV. "The guy was going down head first. He was taking a chance."
"He just hit the concrete. ... There was a loud bang," witness Tristan Esparza told KTLA. "Everybody heard it."
After falling, the man was unconscious but he was still breathing.
"He forced his way past park lifeguards and put himself and other guests at risk by going down the slide in the wrong position," Six Flags said in a statement. "Park medical staff and local paramedics were immediately called to the scene."
He was taken to a local hospital. Police confirm that he received no broken bones or internal injuries.
Park-goers who were there tweeted about the incident.
"Just came from Six Flags HurricaneHarbor, somebody fell off the tallest water slide and landed on the other side of the fence outside," said @MrCedLo
"Went to Hurricane Harbor today & a dude pushed to the front of Venom Drop, went head first, went over the side & crashed into fence," said @JeniferMalia.
Parts of the waterpark were closed off as officials investigated the incident. Hurricane Harbor officially closed for the season as on October 1. It will reopen for next season on May 25, 2013.
Here is a Point of View video of Venom Drop.
