Girls Left Hanging On Stratosphere Thrill Ride

RAH

LAS VEGAS (CBS) Nearly 1,000 feet above the Vegas Strip, "Insanity" is a ride that lives up to its name -- spinning people around and around. Now imagine being stuck on it -- for more than an hour.

That's just what happened to two riders early this morning at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino, and the problem was not due to a malfunction, Paul Magers reports.

The rides on top of the Stratosphere are definitely meant to thrill. A roller coaster and the new "Insanity" ride, which opened earlier this year, hurl people around more than 900 feet above the ground.

But around 1:45 Wednesday morning, the ride suddenly stopped in mid-air, leaving two cousins dangling in the night sky.

"It's bad up there, it's really windy," said Gabriella Ceniceros, who was stranded on the ride.

Gabriella Ceniceros, 11, and her 19-year-old cousin Erica McKinnon, waited helplessly for more than an hour, hanging more than 60 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere tower -- 90 stories from the ground.

Battling wind gusts of more than 50 mph, a worker carefully climbs atop the ride, trying to bring it back to position.

"It was so windy, they were trying to yell to us but we couldn't hear anything," Ceniceros said.

"My body was like frozen, I couldn't move, my legs and arms were like, numb. I didn't feel nothing."

Seeking warmth, the girls held hands, clutching their bodies together.

"I didn't think I was gonna get down. I was trying to stay calm so she wouldn't be scared, but I was so, I was, I've never been that scared in my life," McKinnon said.

Finally the ride began to move. Within seconds, the girls were back on safe ground, greeted with warm blankets and two cups of hot chocolate.

"I'm just happy I'm down here now."

"I'm not even going on the top of that again, ever!."

Turns out, the ride did not malfunction -- it's designed to shut down when the wind gets too high. Unfortunately for Erica and Gabriella, it's not designed to return to position before shutting down.

Chloe

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