Rollercoaster crash victim Shylah Rodden will spend Christmas in hospital as her recovery from the awful accident continues.
Ms Rodden, 26, suffered life-threatening injuries after stepping into the path of the Rebel Coaster at the Melbourne Royal Show in September as she tried to retrieve her phone.
The fairground ride hit her at 70km/h and threw her nine metres into the air. She only recently woke from a coma and is now in a stable condition in hospital.
But she faces a long path to rehabilitation and it’s believed she will now be spending the Christmas period in hospital, joined by her family at her bedside.
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A video of the incident showed Ms Rodden, who was working at the show the day of the accident, inside the safety rail of the ride before the coaster hit and dragged her.
Her relative told news.com.au the aftermath of the incident had been “tough” on the family but her mum, Kylie Rodden, was resilient.
“It’s tough but my darling cousin Ky is a strong lady,” they said.
It has been a challenging year for the Rodden family, aside from the awful rollercoaster crash.
Ms Rodden lost her brother shortly before the incident at the Melbourne Royal Show.
And she became the victim of cruel trolling in the wake of the accident, with US comedians making distasteful ‘jokes’ about her in a podcast.
Following the rollercoaster tragedy, Chair of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, Naomi Kemp, said Ms Rodden should not be blamed for what happened to her.
Ms Kemp said organisers behind theme park rides needed to consider the barriers and fencing which ensured members of the public couldn’t enter a prohibited space.
“We not only have to think about the safety of the ride but also the safety area around the ride that it’s operating in,” she said.
While she stressed neither Ms Rodden or the ride operators should be blamed, she hoped the incident would lead to change.
WorkSafe is investigating circumstances surrounding the tragedy with the assistance of detectives from the Yarra Crime Investigation Unit.
The ride was closed for a few days following the incident while compliance checks were made.
Investigations confirmed there were no technical problems with the rollercoaster.
A GoFundMe has been established to support the family through Ms Rodden’s extensive treatment, and it has raised more than $22,000.