Alton Towers operator fined after admitting health and safety breaches which led to Smiler crash
Alton Towers operator Merlin Attractions has been fined £5 million afteradmitting health and safety breachesover the Smiler rollercoaster crash.
Two teenagers, Vicky Balch and Leah Washington each lost a leg in the collision at the Staffordshire theme park in June last year.
According to the judge at Stafford Crown Court the crash "changed the lives of some of those injured in the most dramatic way".
The court heard that the victims had watched with "disbelief and horror" before ploughing into an empty carriage on the track.
The impact likened by the prosecution to a 90mph family car crash.
The company was fined after the court heard an engineer "felt pressure" to get the ride back into service after it developed a fault shortly before hand.
An expert witness report, compiled by consultant Stephen Flanagan, also said Alton Towers management linked bonuses to "acceptably low levels of downtime" on their rollercoasters.