Girl’s Face Collides With Bird on a High-Speed Roller Coaster

As a child, I came face to face with many things while riding roller coasters. Namely, my anxiety, the concept of mortality, my neighbor’s neck sweat flying back onto me... But never once did I encounter -- or fear encountering -- a large wading...

Facebook/Nicole Ormiston

As a child, I came face to face with many things while riding roller coasters. Namely, my anxiety, the concept of mortality, my neighbor’s neck sweat flying back onto me... But never once did I encounter -- or fear encountering -- a large wading bird. Unfortunately, not all of us are blessed with innocent childhoods. 

For Paige Ormiston, It was just a normal day at Warner Bros Movie World in Queensland, Australia. I presume it was also a normal day for the bird (an ibis) until the two parties collided as Paige rode one of the fastest rollercoasters in the Southern Hemisphere, the DC Rivals HyperCoaster. The ride reaches a max speed of 71.5mph. 

Video of the unexpected collision was shared on Facebook, with a post saying “she’s completely shocked, a little bruised but OK. Not sure about the bird?” 

All that we know about the ibis right now is that its feathers remained on Paige's body. </3

In an interview with 9News, Ormiston said she was very scared, which is an understandable feeling to have when something hits you in the face on a roller coaster, where absolutely nothing should be hitting you in the face.

"I didn’t know what to do because I was stuck in a chair,” she said. “I saw it was white [but] I didn’t know what it was at first.” 

Thankfully, her uncle was there to glance at her in sympathy. Not all heroes wear capes.

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Ruby Anderson is a news writer for Thrillist.