A young girl was rushed to hospital with a broken neck following a ride on a “lethal” zipline in a recently revamped playpark.
Doctors were amazed Lois Crook’s spinal cord was not damaged after she was flung from a zipline that sped “dangerously fast”. The terrified eight-year-old’s mum, Emma Crook, said she was flung “around 10 feet in the air” when the ride rapidly gained momentum on March 27 and flung her over the bumper at the end. After taking her to hospital in a panic, medics later confirmed Lois had suffered a serious neck fracture, and quickly had a halo brace made for her. Lois’ parents are now campaigning to ensure other children don’t meet her same fate.
The youngster’s mum and father, Daniel Crook are now speaking out to warn other parents about the “dangerously fast” zipline at the recently revamped playpark in Victoria Park, in Ashford, Kent. Other parents have also reported their children having suffered broken arms and concussions after falling from the same zipline – which remains in use.
Lois is now back at home but has to deal with the constant pain of her cumbersome brace, which she has to wear for at least 12 weeks and struggles to sleep with it. Mr and Mrs Crook , from Smeeth in Kent, said the zipline at Victoria Park – installed three years ago as part of a £5 million revamp – travels too fast and flung their daughter as much as ten feet into the air.
Meanwhile, Lois’ parents say they’re simply grateful their young daughter’s injuries weren’t more serious. However, with the zipline still in use, they worry other children could suffer similar accidents.
Mrs Crook, 41, who works alongside her husband for Kingsfords Solicitors in Ashford, had taken Lois and son Elliot, 10, to the council-owned park after school, as they had done many times before. She said: “I just saw Lois coming down the zipline and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s going quite fast’.
“Then she hit the bumper, and the bottom of it swung up – she just flew off and arced through the air. She landed headfirst on the grass. She must have been around 10 feet in the air.” Despite Lois being conscious and crying after her fall, Mrs Crook says she immediately sensed something more serious was wrong.
“She was talking at first, but by the time we got to Orbital Park, she stopped speaking to me and just said, ‘My neck hurts and I feel sick.’ That’s when I really started to panic.” Lois was initially taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, where she underwent CT and MRI scans, which confirmed a C2 fracture to the peg on her second vertebra.
This type of injury – often referred to as a hangman’s fracture – is considered serious due to its location at the top of the spine. Remarkably, Lois’s spinal cord was not damaged.
Mr Crook, 42, said: “The peg on the C2 vertebra had broken. That’s the part that allows your head to move. The consultant said it was the kind of injury you’d expect from a car crash, not something you’d normally see from a zipline accident at a playground.”
Because the William Harvey Hospital does not have paediatric halo braces, Lois had to remain in her neck blocks for more than 15 hours before being transferred to King’s College Hospital in London the following morning. She spent a week at King’s, where a custom-made halo brace was surgically fitted using four pins that were screwed into her skull – two at the front and two at the back.
The brace has to be tightened every 48 hours after fitting and checked regularly to avoid complications. Despite the trauma, Lois’s parents praised the care they received at both hospitals.
Mr Crook said: “The staff were fantastic. We were so lucky there was no spinal cord damage, and the team at King’s had a clear plan from the moment we arrived.” Mrs Crook added that, after posting on a community Facebook group about their daughter’s accident, other parents got in touch saying their children had also required hospital visits after falling from the same zipwire.
She said: “So many have said to me since that this one is absolutely lethal. There are a lot of accidents on this particular zipline. It’s particularly fast.” Eight-year-old Lois said the fall has “ruined all my easter holidays”, but has kept an incredible positive attitude. She said: “I’m really missing going to school and seeing my friends, but we are planning a big party for when I am all better.”
The family have to return to London for regular check-ups. Last week, a loose nut on the brace prompted an urgent trip back to King’s. Mrs Crook said: “Because her head can’t move at all, she’s really top-heavy and vulnerable to falling,” Mrs Crook added. Physio has helped a bit, but she still struggles. It’s going to be a long journey ahead, but we are just taking each day as it comes.”
A spokesperson for Ashford Borough Council (ABC), which delivered the revamp of the park with the help of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are aware of an incident involving a child at Victoria Park. However, we are unable to provide a comment whilst investigations are ongoing.”
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