SAN DIEGO — A 10-year-old is safe with her family at home in Arizona after what her mom calls a wild ride at SeaWorld San Diego.
Salina Higgins, her 10-year-old daughter and her 14-year-old niece were enjoying their time at the park when they got on the Electric Eel. The ride has face public scrutiny before. Last year, it was shut down after a person sustained a leg injury.
Higgins says their visit took a scary turn.
"Hold on tight and remain seated with comfort collar secured at all times on the ride," Higgins read aloud from a picture of the disclaimer in front of the Electric Eel at SeaWorld San Diego.
The Arizona mom says that disclaimer should have been adhered to when she and her 10-year-old daughter Ariella were on the Electric Eel. But if you take a close look at the video, that’s now been seen more than 6 million times on social media, the comfort strap is off of Ariella and flying in the air.
Higgins describes the moment she realized the comfort strap came off of Ariella mid-ride.
"I opened my eyes and thank God I did because that's when she started screaming and I saw that belt flapping in the wind because we were hanging upside down. I grabbed that comfort collar and tried to secure it and held on for dear life because I didn't know if anything else wasn't working properly," Higgins explained.
Once the ride was finished, Higgins says SeaWorld staff added insult to injury for how they handled the scary situation.
"My daughter is already crying. She literally got off the ride and fell to the ground because she was shaking so bad. [The employee working the Electric Eel] apologized but then motioned for more people to get onto the ride. I ran back over and said 'You can't do this. This ride just malfunctioned.'” Higgins said.
Higgins adds park officials apologized for the inconvenience and offered her four free tickets. She wasn’t satisfied with their resolution and later asked for manager to further address the situation.
Higgins then says park the manager came, listened to her experience but eventually humiliated her, her daughter and her niece by having them escorted out of the park.
Higgins says she's furious. She says more should have been done to protect her family and other riders.
"They needed to shut the ride down. That's what they needed to do. I asked them, are we shutting the ride down? All they did was go over there and talk to the employee and said make sure this doesn't happen."
CBS 8 reached out to SeaWorld San Diego who provided this statement:
"We take safety very seriously and understand that this guest perceived a risk that caused her concern. There was not, however, a safety issue during the ride. All rides and attractions, including Electric Eel, are designed, operated and inspected daily in accordance with all applicable standards and manufacturer specifications. The “harness” this family is referencing is called a “comfort collar,” which is intended for the rider’s comfort and is not a restraining device. The lap bar and shin bar are the only restraining devices on the coaster, and they remained securely in place throughout the entire ride. Signage at the entrance of the ride indicates that the comfort collar is for rider comfort only."
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