A woman collapsed and died of a heart attack in front of children after a white-knuckle ride. Mother-of-two Carla Knight, 42, was on a trip with kids from a special school where she was a carer. She was on the Maelstrom ride that propels thrill-seekers 70ft into the air on a swinging gondola at 20mph. First aiders tried to resuscitate Carla and an air ambulance was scrambled to Drayton Manor theme park at Tamworth, Staffs, but she died at the scene on Friday. One witness claimed the ride was stopped to get Carla off so she could be helped. Lissy Goodyear, 17, said: “I saw the paramedics trying to get her heart rate back by doing CPR. “They stopped the ride to get her off and put her on the floor. I don’t think there was much they could do. It was horrible.” Carla, of Barwell, Leics, worked as a class carer at the Dorothy Goodman School in Hinckley, which is attended by 174 children with severe learning difficulties. She had a daughter, Rosie, 14, and a 17-year-old son Aaron, who said Thursday: “She was doing what she does best and enjoys most — her job.” A colleague at the school said: “It has been a massive shock for everyone who works at the school. Carla was a lovely caring person.” Neighbour Kimberley Buckworth, 24, said: “Carla was a lovely woman. She was always polite and wanted to help others out and it’s tragic what has happened.”