The Nebraska girl whose long locks of red hair were ripped out on a carnival ride last week may be disfigured for life and lose her eyesight permanently, her devastated father said Sunday.
“She was tortured,” Timothy Gilreath, the father of 11-year-old Elizabeth Gilreath, said in a press conference the day after his daughter’s horrific accident.
“They don’t even know if the muscles will work and if my daughter will ever see again.”
The family released shocking photos of their daughter in the hospital, with severe scars at the top of her head.
Elizabeth Gilreath remains in critical condition as of Tuesday. On theGoFundMe page for her recovery — which asks for $50,000 in donations to help the girl — her family said she has already undergone three surgeries.
Elizabeth Gilreath, 11, had her hair and scalp torn off on the King’s Clown ride at an Omaha carnival.
“(At) this point we are not sure if her scalp will die or stay alive,” the page says.
“If it does die Lulu will not be able to grow her own hair.”
The family has not announced any legal action over the carnival disaster. The Nebraska Labor Department said Monday investigators found no indication of a malfunction or that the ride operator was not paying attention.
Elizabeth Gilreath had her scalp torn from her head at a Cinco de Mayo carnival festival in Omaha Saturday, according to WOWT. Police and witnesses said she was on the spinning King’s Clown ride when she fell from her seat to the floor and got her hair stuck in the ride. Her father said she was trapped that way “for five to 10 minutes” before she was pulled out — with the damage already done.
