Leah Washington lost a leg following a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers this year, and while she has to come to terms with being an amputee, there’s a sad and modern double blow for her in the form of trolls.
You see, they’re insisting that since it injured five people, including 18-year-old Leah, the theme park has got an extra thrill to it. Some are also saying they’d be prepared ‘to lose a leg for £1m’ compensation.
‘I don’t think people understand how much my life has changed,’ Leah told Capital FM. ‘People say, “Oh, I'd lose a leg for millions of pounds”, but they wouldn’t because they don’t understand everything else that comes along with it – the pain, the physio, the learning to walk again.
‘It is so much and so not worth the money.’
As well as fracturing her hand, Leah’s leg had to be removed after the car she was in crashed into an empty one in front of it that had, somewhat ironically, been sent out on its own as a test run for safety.
While Alton Towers looked into the issue, the ride was closed, and Leah then had to field messages from people telling her they were desperate to see it open, reports the BBC. ‘It's upsetting to think that people want to go on the ride after what’s happened to us, just because it is more of a thrill.
‘It is quite upsetting when you are getting messages on Twitter saying, “Oh I can't wait for it to re-open.” If they think that, let them think that, but don’t message us. What we’ve been through is enough.’
Meanwhile, Alton Towers, which defied calls from the public to shut the ride down for good, could do with all the income from these dunce-y thrillseekers, as the company has been forced to cut up to 190 salaried jobs.
Following the crash on 2 June, the park was shut for four days, and in the four months after that, revenue fell by 13.2%.
The resort gave a statement: ‘At the end of a very difficult year, Alton Towers Resort has confirmed a proposed restructure of the business to be completed in time for the opening of the new season in March 2016. Regretfully, however, it may result in the loss of up to 190 salaried jobs across the resort.’
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.