Six Flags closes 9 roller coasters after Georgia death
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ATLANTA (AP) -- Witnesses watched in horror as a man riding a roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia was ejected from his seat, almost seeming to hover above the car before hitting several people and falling to his death.
The nightmarish death prompted Six Flags to temporarily close nine similar coasters across North America.
Police and a state agency that oversees ride inspections are investigating, but many questions remained Tuesday, including how the man fell out and whether there were problems with his restraints.
The man, a school employee from Atlanta, was killed Monday while riding Goliath, the park’s tallest roller coaster with a first hill of 200 feet.
“It looked like he was hovering because the car was moving underneath him,” said Nick Mendenhall, who had just ridden Goliath with his son and was watching the coaster cars passing overhead.
The man fell headfirst back into the coaster, Mendenhall said, then was ejected from the ride on its final turn.
“It felt like slow-motion, but it happened in an instant,” Mendenhall said. “I was just praying in those moments. I was praying: ‘God, please let him stay in that car.'”
Goliath towers above the entrance at Six Flags over Georgia just outside Atlanta with a series of hills and turns. It doesn’t take riders upside down. There are no seat belts. Instead, riders are restrained with lap bars that pull down over their legs and waist.
In a theme park industry that it is constantly introducing new thrills, it’s far from the world’s tallest, fastest or wildest coaster.
The man who died was 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, according to Cobb County police. Investigators and park employees told investigators that he was thrown from the coaster before striking other patrons.
Officials have not released any other information about the people who were hurt.
In the U.S., roller coasters and other rides at major amusement parks such as Six Flags are not regulated by the federal government. That responsibility falls to states.
Georgia’s Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, which oversees annual ride inspections, is “conducting an in‑depth and comprehensive review,” of what happened, said Garrison Bennett, a spokesperson.