Who lost her leg at Alton Towers?

Leah Washington and Joe Pugh were both teenagers riding the Smiler when it crashed in 2015. Leah's leg was later amputated and Joe had shattered knees. Leah showed off her engagement ring in a photo from Venice on her Instagram page. She received thousands of likes and wrote: So this happened yesterday…



The most prominent individual associated with the tragic accident at Alton Towers is Leah Washington. On June 2, 2015, Leah was a passenger on The Smiler roller coaster when her carriage collided with a stationary, empty test carriage. Then aged 17, she suffered life-changing injuries that resulted in her right leg being amputated above the knee. Another passenger, Vicky Balch, also lost a leg in the same accident. Despite the trauma, Leah Washington has become an inspirational figure, sharing her recovery journey and her life as an amputee with the public. In a heartwarming update as of 2024–2026, Leah and her partner Joe Pugh (who was also injured in the crash) have since married, often speaking about how they transformed their "traumatic ordeal into a fairytale" through resilience and mutual support.

People Also Ask

Joe, who broke both kneecaps and had his little finger snapped off by The Smiler ride accident , has received an estimated £100,000 pay-off, while Leah Washington, whose left leg was badly crushed and amputated above the knee, should receive more than £2 million.

MORE DETAILS

All children under 12 years old must be accompanied by an adult of 18 years and above. Children under 3 years old can visit the park for free. The following height and age restrictions apply: Guests must be 1.4m or over to ride Nemesis, Galatica, The Smiler, Oblivion and Rita (Rita has a maximum height of 1.95m).

MORE DETAILS

Vicky Balch and Leah Washington, who each lost a leg in the crash, were in court for the start of the two-day court hearing, along with Joe Pugh, Daniel Thorpe and Chandaben Chauhan, who were also seriously hurt.

MORE DETAILS

Vicky Balch, from Lancashire, had her right leg amputated below the knee following seven rounds of surgery. She was injured when the theme park's Smiler ride crashed into an empty carriage in front of it on 2 June.

MORE DETAILS

Alton Towers is open between March and November, and takes in around £110m in revenues annually, analysts estimate. This means it makes an average of £464,000 a day – though this will be higher during the summer months.

MORE DETAILS

All children under 12 years old must be accompanied by an adult of 18 years and above. Children under 3 years old can visit the park for free. The following height and age restrictions apply: Guests must be 1.4m or over to ride Nemesis, Galatica, The Smiler, Oblivion and Rita (Rita has a maximum height of 1.95m).

MORE DETAILS

Following the accident, merchandise and references to the Smiler were removed from the park. The coaster was closed for the rest of the year. The fate of the ride was unknown until 24 November 2015, when Alton Towers announced that the accident was caused by human error and the ride would reopen in 2016.

MORE DETAILS

The body of a Smiler shows nothing but a black mass enshrouding the creature. It is unknown if this is the body of the Smiler itself or a shadow that covers its actual body. The documentation of its body is currently impossible, as Smilers leave no trace of their existence when they die.

MORE DETAILS