Alton Towers Smiler rollercoaster ‘crashed with the force of a 90mph car accident’

The crash on the Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers that left five passengers with life-changing injuries was so powerful that it was the equivalent of a 90mph car crash, a court has heard.

Vicky Balch (above), then 19, and Leah Washington, then 17, who each lost a leg in the devastating crash in June last year and several other people who were trapped for hours attended Stafford Crown Court today for the sentencing hearing.

Prosecuter Bernard Thorogood told the court that the passengers on the £18 million ride watched with “disbelief and horror” as realised they were going to collide with an empty carriage.

He said the kinetic energy involved in the crash was equivalent to “a family car of 1.5 tons having collided at about 90mph”.

Mr Thorogood said the test carriage had been sent around the ride but had come to rest in a valley of the track, unseen by ride staff.

The engineers had overridden a computer system which they believed had halted the ride in error - and sent a full car along to the track and into the path of the empty carriage.

The court was told the victims of the crash were held at a "very difficult angle” around 20ft (6m) above ground waiting for medical attention because of the inaccessibility of that part of the ride after the two trains on the ride “meshed together”.

Victims: Joe Pugh, Leah Washington and Daniel Thorpe were on the ride at the time of the accident (PA)

Mr Thorogood said that while the mistakes which led to the crash were made by individuals, the ultimate responsibility lies with their employers.

Alton Towers operator Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd has been told it is facing a fine which could top £10 million after admitting a health and safety breach on the 14-loop ride.

The Health and Safety Executive concluded that Merlin fell "far short” when it came to governing the inevitable need for engineers from the park’s technical service’s department to fix faults on the ride.

Mr Thorogood said one engineer who worked on the Smiler that day told investigators after the crash that he had “assumed” the rollercoaster had been fitted with a type of safety trip-switch present on at least one other park ride, when in fact it had not.

He said: “The staff had come to distrust at that stage the fault signal on occasions and hence they thought that the one that was showing was an error.

"There was nobody, no individual who had to sign off and take responsibility for that event.”

The court heard how Alton Towers has instituted 30 changes following the crash to improve safety of the ride.

Top pic: PA