Family of Melbourne rollercoaster victim Shylah Rodden slam decision to RE-OPEN the ride

The family of a young woman who suffered ‘horrific’ injuries in a rollercoaster accident have branded the decision to reopen the ride as ‘shameful’. 

Shylah Rodden, 26, remains in an intensive care unit after falling nine metres in the mysterious accident at the Melbourne Royal Show on Sunday. 

On Tuesday, a WorkSafe inspection concluded that The Revel Coaster was ‘safe’, allowing operators to re-open the ride to the public. 

Shylah Rodden sustained horrific injuries in a rollercoaster accident in Melbourne on Sunday 

Shylah Rodden and her sister Caisha in happier times. Shylah is fighting for life in hospital

Shylah’s sister Caisha Rodden, who remains at a bedside vigil alongside worried family members, described her family’s disgust at the decision in one word. 

‘Shameful’ she told Daily Mail Australia. 

Shaylah remains in a critical condition with horrific injuries after police claimed she walked on the tracks to retrieve a mobile phone. 

Her distraught sister told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that her family were unclear about Shaylah’s chances of recovery.  

‘We don’t know (the) possibilities and chances at this stage,’ she said. 

Show spokeswoman Katie Scanlan told Daily Mail Australia that WorkSafe had finalised an inspection report which declared the ride was safe and could be re-opened from today.

‘The safety and well-being of our visitors to the show continues to be our number one priority,’ she said in a statement. 

‘Strict safety protocols are upheld in line with Victorian WorkSafe regulations. All rides on site have undergone stringent compliance inspections and have passed all the required safety documentation.’

Daily Mail Australia asked organisers to reveal what, if any, new procedures, requirements or improvement notices the safety watchdog issued. 

Show management declined to answer.  

Video obtained by Daily Mail Australia shows passengers clearly hanging onto their possessions while riding the rollercoaster, which travels completely upside down. 

Access to the tracks also appeared to be restricted by a short fence.   

The Melbourne Royal Show will remain open until Sunday.

Word of the rollercoaster’s return to action has seen yet again more vile online abuse hurled at the critically injured woman. 

A passenger on the ride can be seen jumping off it with her handbag 

Questions over the height of fences around the ride (pictured) remain unanswered by Show management 

Shylah Rodden had been working at the show when she apparently decided to go on the rollercoaster during a break 

Within minutes of being reported, more than 140 comments appeared under one article post. 

‘They can blame no one else but the lady who was injured. It was her choice to try and retrieve it while the ride was still running,’ one person wrote.

‘And so it should be reopen, why would you even try getting your phone when the coaster was in use. Silly mistake by the girl,’ another woman wrote. 

It is the latest in a barrage of online criticism coldly blaming Shylah for the tragedy after police claimed she had been hit while trying to retrieve her mobile phone. 

Many of the comments are so cruel Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to publish them. 

Caisha said the rumours being spread online were causing even greater pain to her family struggling to cope.

‘Definitely misinformation regarding the accident, which is really sad and causing more distress for our family,’ she said.

‘Shylah is in critical condition and we won’t know more until later today as we will be discussing with police and giving some eyewitness statements.’

Her father, Alan Rodden, said mystery still surrounds how Shylah was hit.

‘There are a lot of stories going around and I don’t know which one is true and if someone is covering their tracks,’ he said.

Others on the ride were left stranded atop the rollercoaster for some time with the ride immediately shut down

Shylah Rodden lost her brother Jason just two months before the shocking rollercoaster crash in Melbourne 

On Monday, police claimed Shylah was struck by the ride, which was travelling about 70km/h, while trying to retrieve her mobile phone from the tracks.

Horrified families watched on as the chaos unfolded on Sunday with paramedics treating Shylah for serious facial injuries at the scene before taking her to hospital in a critical condition. 

Mr Rodden said his daughter had suffered life-changing injuries. 

‘Obviously I can’t talk to my daughter. She’s going to be in a coma for quite a while,’ he said. 

‘The injuries are horrific. Horrific. She’s brain damaged. It’s pelvic, her arms, legs, back, neck – there’s hardly a thing that’s not broken. I just can’t work out how the hell so much damage has been done. 

‘Even the doctors have said they haven’t seen anything as bad as this for a long time.’

Shylah Rodden (pictured) had nearly every bone in her body broken in the shocking accident 

Caisha revealed that her sister had been working at the show. 

‘Shylah was actually there working. She was helping out her friend at her stall for the day and she was sent on her break with another worker and they decided to go on a few rides to kill time and this happened unfortunately,’ she said. 

While police maintain Shylah had been attempting to retrieve her phone, some eye witnesses claim she had been onboard the rollercoaster, which somehow dislodged her up to 9m high before she plunged to the ground. 

‘She flew from the ride, loud bang. Followed by a scream and very loud crack of her hitting the ground,’ one eye witness stated on social media. 

‘I was standing right next to it when it happened. Poor girl laying in a large pool of blood as medical response was so slow!’

‘My daughter was there too and they have called Crimestoppers as they felt like she had fallen from the ride too,’ another person wrote. 

Passengers on the ride had been left stranded atop the rollercoaster for hours after the ride was shut down. 

A spokesperson for The Royal Melbourne Show told Daily Mail Australia it was working with authorities to ascertain how the tragedy happened 

One witness, who had been positioned next to the rollercoaster, claimed police assertions she had been on the tracks were not accurate. 

‘I did not see her walking or climbing on the tracks at all, we saw her flying from the ride, where she landed and how she landed is not consistent with being hit,’ a woman claimed.

‘Not from what we witnessed. We were standing right next to the ride when it happened.’

The witness had taken her young son on the ride shortly before the accident. 

‘We saw her fall from the ride, (heard) the scream and the crack of her hitting the ground. My husband was one of the first on the scene. We were standing right next to it when it happened ,’ she said. 

Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact police.