The owner of Alton Towers is to be prosecuted over the Smiler rollercoaster crash in which five people were seriously injured.
The victims of the incident last June included two women who had legs amputated after their carriage collided with a stationary carriage on the same track.
The Health and Safety Executive said Merlin Attractions will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on April 22 to face a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Neil Craig, head of operations for HSE in the Midlands, said: “We have today informed Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd that it will be prosecuted for breaching health and safety law.
“This was a serious incident with life-changing consequences for five people.
“We have conducted a very thorough investigation and consider that there is sufficient evidence and that it is in the public interest to bring a prosecution.”
Merlin Entertainments has seen its annual profits edge up after the accident.
The group – which also owns attractions such as Legoland, Madame Tussauds and the London Eye – said it overcame a fall in revenues at its theme parks to post a pre-tax profit rise of 0.3% to £250m in the year to December 26 compared with a year ago.
It said Alton Towers had a “significant” fall in visitor numbers after the accident on June 2 2015, which resulted in the 500-acre theme park in Staffordshire being shut down for four days.
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