Tragic rollercoaster victim Shylah Rodden allegedly lashed out angrily at ride operators who warned her not to retrieve her phone moments before she was struck.
Ms Rodden, then aged 26, suffered critical injuries after she was struck by the Rebel Coaster when she walked onto the tracks to retrieve her phone at the Melbourne Royal Show in 2022.
On Monday, after a near two-year investigation, workplace watchdog WorkSafe Victoria decided against charging the ride operator or the Melbourne Royal Show.
The move sparked an angry reaction from Shylah’s mother Kylie Rodden, who embarked on a media campaign the next day to slam the workplace authority.
But Daily Mail Australia can now reveal the disturbing chain of events that ended with Ms Rodden being struck by the rollercoaster.
Well-placed sources closely linked with the investigation have told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Rodden was found to be the key cause of the tragedy.
Ms Rodden had earlier been working at a lolly stand at the show when she and a friend took a ride on the rollercoaster during a break.
Witnesses are understood to have told Worksafe investigators Ms Rodden appeared disorientated when she dropped her phone and attempted to retrieve it from under the tracks.
Shylah Rodden before the shocking incident in 2022
Shylah Rodden in hospital. The ride operator has been cleared of any wrongdoing
Shylah Rodden (pictured in black) seconds from disaster
The source alleges ride operators told Ms Rodden they would stop the ride to allow her to retrieve her phone, but she would need to wait up to 30 minutes before she could access the area.
‘It’s fair to say she had some words to say to the operator when he told her to wait half-an-hour so that was the kind of behaviour the operator was facing,’ the source said.
‘She really didn’t want to wait and took it in her own hands not to do so.’
The investigation is understood to have found the operators had taken every precaution to ensure the safety of showgoers.
‘They did all that. They followed their systems, they followed the processes they had in place,’ the source said.
‘The workers there followed their training as they were told to do and that’s where the obligations are.
‘That’s where any charges the authority could lay are and have nothing to do with any decisions that one person may have made to get around those systems and processes that were in place by the (operator).’
The ride operator was already familiar with those processes, given the number of items that routinely get dropped from the ride, the source said.
That system does not see the ride stopped each and every time a customer alerts the operator.
‘With a rollercoaster that kind of thing happens all the time,’ they added.
‘Stuff falls out of people’s pockets literally every time the ride goes around so they have a system in place to ensure that when things fall out people can get it back.
‘They keep the ride going because they can’t stop it every time otherwise they’d be doing it all day, everyday.
‘They have set times when they can shut it down and let people go and collect their stuff. [But] she decided not to wait and ultimately suffered the consequences.’
On Wednesday, Arnold Thomas & Becker lawyer Sharlene Mehta, representing Ms Rodden’s family, told Daily Mail Australia she could not respond to the allegations as she hadn’t been provided with WorkSafe’s final report.
‘As we have not been provided any information about the WorkSafe investigations that relate to Shylah Rodden’s injuries and incident, we are not able to comment on the allegations.’ she said.
Shylah Rodden will need a lifetime of care after being struck by a rollercoaster
Shylah Rodden in the weeks after her release from hospital
Ms Mehta told Daily Mail Australia they had been informed of the WorkSafe decision via a letter.
‘We have not received a copy of WorkSafe’s report so we have no knowledge of what their investigations covered, or who was interviewed as part of their investigations,’ Ms Mehta said.
‘We have requested a copy of the findings of the investigations, but this will take six to eight months to get to us. Until then, we have little information about their findings.
‘The letter our client received outlined the option to request that WorkSafe reconsider its decision and undertake further investigation.
‘There was no further information provided. Once we have received a copy of the WorkSafe findings, we will decide whether we wish to make such a request to WorkSafe.’
Shylah’s mother – and legal guardian – Ms Rodden would not be drawn on the circumstances surrounding the accident.
‘I’d prefer not to answer that one. I think in time Shylah can answer that,’ she told The Age.
Among the Rodden family’s complaints was an allegation their daughter was not directly questioned about the incident.
Daily Mail Australia has been told WorkSafe’s family liaison team kept in close contact with Shylah’s mother throughout the 22-month long investigation.
‘They were absolutely in touch with Shylah’s family right throughout that process,’ said the source.
‘Obviously Shylah herself, while she can communicate, she has nominated contacts, including her mum who has been appointed her guardian.
‘So WorkSafe has to deal with her mum because she’s been legally-appointed her guardian and she’s been kept informed right throughout the process.
‘I think it’s a bit unfair for her to say at the end she just got a letter and nothing else explaining what’s been happening.’
On Wednesday, Ms Mehta claimed Ms Rodden had been contacted by WorkSafe on three occasions, primarily to be assigned a family liaison officer who was to check on the welfare of Shylah and the family.
‘Ms Rodden said that she herself contacted WorkSafe periodically over the past 22 months to ask about the progress of the investigation,’ she said.
‘She was provided some brief updates around the timing of the investigation, but was never given any information on the details or the scope of their enquiries.’
Shylah Rodden before the tragic incident at the show
Shylah Rodden, seen more recently, was allegedly told to wait for the ride to come to a scheduled halt, but took matters into her own hands
Under WorkSafe’s regulatory requirements, its focus of investigations is solely based on the risk factor of workplaces rather than the outcomes of accidents.
‘There are certain situations where the outcome is irrelevant to its investigations. In this case, WorkSafe was investigating the duty holder and their obligation to do everything practically reasonable to reduce the risk so the outcome was immaterial essentially and not relevant to the investigation,’ a source said.
It is understood Shylah’s legal team will need to lodge a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain a copy of WorkSafe’s investigation report, which it could use to pursue any civil action against the ride operator.
‘It’s the only way they’re going to get it because it’s not something that’s handed out when an investigation wraps up, so they can try and get their hands on it that way if they like,’ a source said.
On Tuesday, Shylah’s mum revealed her daughter would require full-time medical care despite making a ‘miraculous’ recovery that now sees her walking and talking.
The Royal Melbourne Show refused to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
WorkSafe Victoria did not respond to inquiries about the matter on Wednesday.
