A young woman who was struck by a rollercoaster as she tried to retrieve her phone has been dealt another cruel blow - this time by a lack of donations towards her recovery.
Shylah Rodden, 26, was hit by the Rebel Coaster at the Royal Melbourne Show on September 25.
She suffered awful facial injuries in the crash, is still in a serious condition and may never live a normal life again.
With that in mind, her friends set up a GoFundMe page with the aim of raising $20,000 to help her with her lengthy recovery.
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But in a tragic twist, only nine people have pledged money towards the fundraiser - with a paltry total of $1500 raised by 6am on Saturday.
The fundraiser was set up by Ms Rodden’s mate Sylvia Dess, who said she wanted “to raised as much money as I can for Shylah” after the “tragic incident”.
Ms Rodden suffered broken bones and a brain injury after a carriage on the rollercoaster hit her at an estimated 70km/h.
She is believed to have walked onto the rollercoaster tracks to retrieve her phone after it fell from her pocket, with eyewitnesses saying she appeared “fixated” by something on the ground.
Graphic footage of the incident was uploaded to TikTok, showing Ms Rodden being dragged nine metres into the air before plummeting to the ground.
The man who captured the vision said he was filming his sister and partner on the ride when he accidentally caught the tragic incident on camera.
“All of a sudden, I saw someone getting taken up but at the same time I’m thinking ‘f***, my sister, my partner,” he told 7 News.
“But you can see she’d 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 ride at all.”
Her family remain with her in hospital, including her father Alan, who has barely left his daughter’s bedside.
The Rebel Coaster reopened on Tuesday after WorkSafe finalised an inspection report and declared it safe to operate.
“It appears at this early stage the woman, believed aged in her 20s, may have walked on and entered the track to try and retrieve a dropped phone before she was hit by a rollercoaster carriage, about 5.45pm,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
“The safety and wellbeing of our visitors to the Show continues to be our number one priority,” A Melbourne Royal Show spokesperson said.
“We uphold strict safety protocols in line with Victorian WorkSafe regulations and all rides on site have undergone stringent compliance inspections.
“No ride is turned on until it has passed all the required safety and compliance documentation.”
Ms Rodden’s family is considering legal action against the rollercoaster operators.
She previously survived a serious car crash and is also pursuing legal action over that incident.
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