WARNING: disturbing content.
The eyewitness who inadvertently caught the moment a roller coaster threw a woman into the air says he and his family are traumatised.
Jordan, whose last name was withheld, told 7NEWS.com.au only a small number of people witnessed what actually happened at the Melbourne Royal Show on Sunday night.
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He was filming the Rebel roller coaster ride while his sister Chloe and her partner Alex were in the front carriage, doing a loop.
When they did, however, the ride hit 26-year-old Shylah Rodden, sending her several meters into the air before falling.
Jordan witnessed the moments leading up to the collision and says he “hasn’t slept since.”
Shylah Rodden, 26. Credit: 7NEWS
“Both my sister and my partner were called to go on the ride earlier but there was only one seat and they waited for the next one,” she said.
“My other sister was watching with me, we probably waited 15 minutes before we got to see them because of the line.
“While we were waiting, we saw something fall from one of the rides and we didn’t know what it was. Probably 10 minutes later, the ride with my partner and my sister was.
“We saw a lady in an area where she shouldn’t be. A worker told him to go away but we didn’t get to hear the whole conversation, she just told him not to be there. That person started walking away and I didn’t think much of it.”
He then turned his attention back to the trip his sister and her partner were on and began recording.
Then, he says, tragedy struck.
The Rebel Coaster ride was closed on Monday. Credit: 7NEWS
“Everything happened so fast but so slowly. All of a sudden, I saw someone get caught, but at the same time I’m thinking, ‘damn, my sister, my partner.’
The footage that accidentally captured the crash shows a woman standing by the tracks of the ride.
She seems to be looking down and doesn’t see the carriage – and its occupants – calling out to her.
“She put her foot between the post and started to bend down,” Jordan said.
“What my sister and my partner have told me, it looked like someone had jumped in front of it.
“But you could see she had bent down to pick something up. I don’t know if it was a phone or what, but she was so fixated on picking it up that she didn’t even see the trip.”
When she was beaten, she said, she was silent.
“I didn’t hear her scream,” he said.
“I think the screams I heard came from the spectators. It happened so fast.”
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Jordan said she had agreed to speak to draw attention to the invisible side of the disaster: first responders.
A few minutes after the accident, the stage was cordoned off and the police and Show staff were talking to people.
Those still on the ride, including Chloe and Alex, were stuck up there for only an hour.
But workers manually moved them from the steep slope they were on to a flatter area of the track to make them more comfortable.
“They were up there for about 45 minutes, but I can see how it could have felt like hours,” Jordan said.
Police were first on the scene, he said, offering advice and information.
“They offered counseling, numbers to call and all that,” Jordan said.
“But they just let us know what was going on. They were very nice, they took all our statements.
“I was trying to sign my name at the end of my statement and my hand was shaking. I’ve never experienced anything like this and I hope it never happens again.”
The footage he captured, which he describes as “lucky or unlucky”, was passed on to police as they investigate how the accident happened.
7NEWS.com.au has chosen not to publish the full video.
He previously posted it on social media, but not for Jordan.
People are seen queuing at the Hall the day after the incident. Credit: AAP
Shylah remains in critical condition days after the incident.
His family says he suffered a brain injury and several broken bones.
On Tuesday, organizers of the Melbourne Royal Show issued a statement confirming that WorkSafe had completed its inspection of the ride and given it permission to resume running.
“The safety and well-being of our visitors to the Salon remains our number one priority,” the statement said.
“Strict safety protocols are maintained in accordance with Victorian WorkSafe regulations. All attractions on site have undergone strict compliance inspections and have passed all required safety documentation.”
But Rodden’s family said they were “saddened and horrified” that the ride had reopened so soon after the incident.
Earlier, Melbourne Royal Show general manager Brad Jenkins described it as a “tragic accident” and said his thoughts were with the young woman’s family and friends.
“It’s a tragic accident and it’s our understanding that there was a mobile phone at the base of the Rebel Coaster that he dropped during the ride and he retrieved the mobile phone,” he said.
“Sadly, she was tragically struck by the descending trolley.
“It’s an extreme roller coaster that’s a lot of fun overall, but it was a tragic accident that shouldn’t have happened.”
He added that the ride operator was experienced and that the machine itself had not malfunctioned.
“This is a tragic accident, not a malfunction of a ride, so I can assure people that rides are completely safe,” he said.
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