Alton Towers fined £5,000,000 over Smiler rollercoaster crash

Alton Towers operator Merlin Attractions has been fined £5 million after admitting health and safety breaches over the Smiler rollercoaster crash.

Two teenagers – Vicky Balch, then 19, and Leah Washington, then 17 – each lost a leg in the collision in June last year which ‘changed the lives of some of those injured in the most dramatic way’, according to a judge.

Stafford Crown Court heard that the victims had watched with ‘disbelief and horror’ before ploughing into an empty carriage on the track, with the impact likened by the prosecution to a 90mph car crash.

The company was fined after the court heard that an engineer ‘felt pressure’ to get Smiler back into service after it developed a fault shortly before the devastating crash.

Vicky Balch (2L) appearing at Stafford Crown Court, Stafford, Staffordshire. September 27, 2016. Alton Towers's operator Merlin is due to be sentenced later for the crash on the £18m Smiler rollercoaster. 

See NTI story NTITOWERS. Sixteen people were injured in the crash last June, including two teenage girls who needed leg amputations. In April, Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd admitted breaching the Health and Safety Act. In November the theme park said the accident was caused by "human error." Prosecutors have argued fault was with the employer not individuals. The court heard on Monday how engineers failed to notice a carriage that had stopped midway around the 14-loop ride.

Vicky Balch (2L) appearing at Stafford Crown Court (Picture: NTI)
Vicky Balch (C) and Leah Washington (PURPLE TROUSERS) appearing at Stafford Crown Court, Stafford, Staffordshire. September 27, 2016. Alton Towers's operator Merlin is due to be sentenced later for the crash on the £18m Smiler rollercoaster.

 See NTI story NTITOWERS. Sixteen people were injured in the crash last June, including two teenage girls who needed leg amputations. In April, Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd admitted breaching the Health and Safety Act. In November the theme park said the accident was caused by "human error." Prosecutors have argued fault was with the employer not individuals. The court heard on Monday how engineers failed to notice a carriage that had stopped midway around the 14-loop ride.

Vicky Balch (C) and Leah Washington appearing at Stafford Crown Court (Picture: NTI)

An expert witness report, compiled by consultant Stephen Flanagan, also said Alton Towers management linked bonuses to ‘acceptably low levels of downtime’ on their rollercoasters.

Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd had already been warned by a judge earlier this year to expect a very large fine for admitting a health and safety breach which led to a carriage on the £18 million ride smashing into an empty car.
Footage has been released showing the moment five people suffered life changing injuries while on the Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers.