A man suffered a horrific spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed after taking his “first roller coaster ride” at a well-known South Carolina amusement park, a new lawsuit has found.
Kul Sannyashi was riding the ‘Swamp Fox’ roller coaster at Family Kingdom Amusement Park in Myrtle Beach in July 2021 when the alleged incident occurred.
His wife, Gangia Adhikari, filed a lawsuit against the “largest amusement park by the sea” on Thursday, alleging negligence and extremely dangerous activities. She is seeking unspecified financial damages.
Sannyashi, who has also filed a lawsuit against the park, rode the 2,640-foot roller coaster that can reach a maximum speed of 220 hours. He suffered “an acute injury to his spinal cord” that left him paralyzed, the lawsuit said.
Originally known as the ‘Red Devil’, the Swamp Fox began operating in May 1966 and is one of the few wooden roller coasters left in the US.
Kul Sannyashi rode the Swamp Fox roller coaster at Family Kingdom Amusement Park in Myrtle Beach in July 2021, where he suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury and paralysis, according to a lawsuit.
His wife, Gangia Adhikari, filed a lawsuit against the “largest amusement park by the sea” on Thursday, alleging negligence and extremely dangerous activities.
The legal filing names Family Kingdom, the park’s parent company, Ocean Avenue Attractions LLC, along with Leigh V. Meese and Donnie Snipes, employees of the park, as defendants.
Sannyashi and his wife in July 2021 at an amusement park
On the day of the alleged incident, Sannyashi bought a ticket for a roller coaster ride. Due to “defendants’ negligence, carelessness, recklessness, willfulness and wantonness,” the ride allegedly seriously injured him, the complaint said.
The lawsuit said the park failed to inspect the roller coaster to “ensure it was functioning properly” and that the park “failed to adequately warn patrons” of its danger “compared to other attractions.”
The filing added that Family Kingdom Amusement Park created “unsafe” conditions, failed to take precautions, “properly tested, removed and restricted” the roller coaster, which in turn created a “dangerous roller coaster” for customers.
Morgan Martin, whose firm represents the couple, said The Sun News that many people have said the ride has been “violent and rough” over the years.
‘The accusation is that he makes it well and then becomes paralyzed. It’s such a sad, sad day for that young man, who is just in terrible shape,” Martin said.
Originally known as the ‘Red Devil’, the Swamp Fox began operating in May 1966 and is one of the few wooden roller coasters left in the US.
a GoFundMe page has since been set up to raise money to pay for his ongoing procedures and 24-hour care.
The donation page explained that Sannyashi suffered a spinal cord injury to the C1/C2 vertebrae during ‘his first roller coaster ride’.
“He is currently a ventilator-dependent paralyzed patient who requires 24-hour care. Our lives have completely changed, but our hearts are truly grateful that we still have Kul with us,” read the page created when the alleged incident took place.
In a Facebook post on July 26, 2021, Adhikari shared a photo of her and her husband at an amusement park, although it is unclear whether it was taken at Family Kingdom.
‘No words can express how much I miss you. My happiness lies there [sic] you are. “I love you so much, I miss you all the time,” she said.
More than $14,500 was raised Saturday evening. DailyMail.com contacted the Family Kingdom theme park for comment.
This isn’t the first time the Myrtle Beach amusement park has faced legal trouble over its Swamp Fox roller coaster, as a Horror County woman sued Family Kingdom Amusement Park in 2019.
A GoFundMe page has since been set up to raise money to pay for Sannyashi’s ongoing procedures and 24-hour care. (photo: Sannyashi and his wife in 2020)
The unidentified woman who rode the roller coaster on June 9, 2018 said she was not warned how dangerous and rough the roller coaster was, WBTW reported.
The lawsuit revealed that the woman had a history of back problems, but other roller coasters had not been a problem for her in the past.
“However, the Swamp Fox roller coaster was much rougher than a normal roller coaster, and in fact came off the rails and crashed back down, aggravating plaintiff’s previous back injuries,” the suit said.
The amusement park on Ocean Boulevard is home to more than 35 attractions for children and adults.
According to Family Kingdom websitethe Swamp Fox ‘takes riders on a roaring adrenaline rush as they look out over the Atlantic Ocean.’
The ride had to be restored in 1989 after it was damaged by Hurricane Hugo, The Sun News reported.