Carnival ride rips out girl's scalp

OMAHA, Neb. — An 11-year-old girl is recovering after her hair and much of the skin on her head was ripped off Saturday by a carnival ride.

Elizabeth Gilreath was on the King's Crown ride during a Cinco de Mayo festival when her hair got caught on a crown point, according to WTVR.

"It went on for 5-10 minutes everybody told me while it ripped and pulled my daughter around," her father Timothy Gilreath told WTVR.

The ride was closed and police investigated, including poring over surveillance video, according to KETV.

Gilreath was taken to Nebraska Medicine where she has undergone three surgeries since the accident, according to KMTV.

"Surgical doctors played a big role and they saved my daughter's life and I cannot thank them enough," the girl's mother Virginia Cooksey told WTVR.

A witness helped save Elizabeth after she heard the girl's screams.

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"It was just a child; she needed help," Jolene Cisneros told KETV. "She's just like, 'Where's my pretty hair?' I looked at her, I told her, 'It's going to be OK. I prayed, please don't let her pass -- I didn't want her to pass right in front of my eyes."

Witessness used clothing to help stop the bleeding.

The ride was last inspected in March, according to WOWT.

"One of the first things of course is safety," event coordinator Marcos Mora, told KMTV. "They actually cannot operate until they are inspected. To our knowledge, that's what's supposed to happen, and that's what's been done."

The rides are run by Thomas D. Thomas. A company spokeswoman declined comment to KMTV.

"As far as I know they've never had any incidents," Mora told WOWT. "We've never had any incidents so, again, this is just an unfortunate incident. We're just waiting for the investigation."

Cox Media Group