(TW) Man Died From Roller Coaster Accident

[RAMROD 118,323]

 

In a horrifying scene witnessed by dozens of park-goers, a man died after being ejected from a car on the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday.

In a statement, Six Flags said they were "deeply saddened by the guest incident," and that park workers and local authorities responded immediately. 

Witnesses described a horrific scene, saying the man fell and hit the ride several times. One witness told Cody Alcorn that the falling man was captured on their souvenir picture.

"He was in our pictures," the witness said. "He fell and hit the car three different times."

A husband and wife on the ride saw the man ejected from his car and bouncing off the coaster three times. 

"We saw it all," the man said. 

"We were having a great time and went to 'Oh my God, what is happening?' " the woman said. 

They both said workers checked their safety harness before the ride. 

 

Rescue video and full article:

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/nation-world/riders-stuck-on-the-six-flags-goliath-roller-coaster/85-5a07f6d0-6ab6-458e-8b7b-4d3619436b4b

 

 

Witnesses reports:

 

 

 

Edited 10 hours ago by RAMROD

[timdrake 3,038]

dude some awful accidents and mechanical failures are happening at amusement parks these days, that's terrible 

[Madame Goo Goo 4,156]

That’s so sad. I haven’t been to Six Flags Over Georgia since COVID, I used to have a season pass but the direction things have been going I just know that those underpaid high school employees aren’t doing a thing to prevent accidents like this. Not to mention the company is likely cutting corners in other ways. The price for admission used to be around ~$60, it dropped to $30 for a few years and is in the $40s now, which has always made me nervous to go back. Ironically I was planning to go back soon, and was looking forward to riding this ride, but now I’m 😬

[gagzus 26,644]

and this is way my mf gay ass will NEVER get on a rollercoaster omg 

[bxr 3,411]

36 minutes ago, Madame Goo Goo said:

That’s so sad. I haven’t been to Six Flags Over Georgia since COVID, I used to have a season pass but the direction things have been going I just know that those underpaid high school employees aren’t doing a thing to prevent accidents like this. Not to mention the company is likely cutting corners in other ways. The price for admission used to be around ~$60, it dropped to $30 for a few years and is in the $40s now, which has always made me nervous to go back. Ironically I was planning to go back soon, and was looking forward to riding this ride, but now I’m 😬

That’s wilde … my friends and I used to go in high school, I think the Georgia Scorcher and Deja Vu might have been the hyped coasters back then but it’s been awhile …

I do remember there was a coaster that was a bit notorious for causing people’s ears to bleed (something about the headrest design, like the width on the sides in conjunction with the motion of the coaster caused riders’ heads to shake from side to side at a high velocity), maybe the Ninja?

But that’s just to say, if that was then, I can’t even imagine what the leniency with oversight is now … 

Stay safe, and watch out for each other out there 

[Duella Dvil 12,536]

Oh.

I've ridden that coaster. That's so awful.

Cannot imagine how terrifying that ride must have been for everyone since (I'm assuming) it completed its course. Like that feeling of "my restraint could be next to fail" is going to haunt them forever.

I hope six flags personally covers everyone on that rides therapy sessions.

[loveandpeace 2,466]

I don't get what's so entertaining about putting your life at risk with these games, but okay.

[Future Lovers 7,935]

I know this is scary but please remember these sorts of accidents are so incredibly rare and that is why they make the news like they do. 

This particular coaster is made by B&M, a company that started building coasters in 1988. This is the first time anyone has ever died on one of their rides in their 38 year history. 

It is WAY too early to tell what happened here but I would sooner believe that this was due to either the actions of the rider, a decision one of the ride ops made, or some sort of failure to catch a maintenance issue from the park’s maintenance staff than it being any fault in the ride. 

Why am I saying this? 

To remind you that despite the way the media and online personalities like to speak, coasters and parks are safe. Accidents are ridiculously rare, and whenever one does happen, changes are made to keep those accidents from happening again. 

On average, 4 people per year die on roller coasters and that includes people who died because of health issues rather than a fault of a ride. For reference, over 100 people die in car crashes per day. There has not been a coaster fatality due to a mechanical failure since 2003. That is how crazy rare these are. 

Nothing is 100% fool proof. There will always be accidents and tragedies in absolutely anything. But remember that millions of people ride coasters per year (to get an idea of how many, over 10 million people visit Magic Kingdom per year and that is one single park out of thousands) and they don’t die. 

And, if this turns out to be the fault of Six Flags Over Georgia due to maintenance negligence, also know that that does NOT impact any other Six Flags park. Every Six Flags park has their own site maintenance department so a failure of one does not mean it is a company wide failure. 

There is likely to be a LOT of sensationalism around this, a lot of incorrect suggestions, and a lot of huge assumptions. Just like there is with plane crashes. 

Don’t fall for it.

This is a uniquely tragic situation that represents a massive, massive anomaly in an industry that has a ridiculously good safety record. 

[Future Lovers 7,935]

20 minutes ago, loveandpeace said:

I don't get what's so entertaining about putting your life at risk with these games, but okay.

You aren’t putting your life at risk. 

Roller coasters are no more risky than riding in a car. They are in fact less risky. You are SIGNIFICANTLY more likely to be killed in your car on the way to a park than riding a ride at a park. 

These types of accidents are insanely rare. More people per year as a result of dairy cows than roller coasters. 

They’re fun because they are designed to be fun and have an overall exemplary safety record. This is a tragedy, but it is also extremely, extremely uncommon. 

[NUTELLA 31,502]

The souvenir/drop photos are horrifying

& apparently he was on the ride with his son 

Very, very sad

[Purrrrrr 18,582]

It happened at the exact point of the on ride photo and I regrettably have just seen the image.. 

The restraint is infact up on his seat and that shouldn't mechanically be possible.. this is sad

[Purrrrrr 18,582]

8 minutes ago, Future Lovers said:

I know this is scary but please remember these sorts of accidents are so incredibly rare and that is why they make the news like they do. 

This particular coaster is made by B&M, a company that started building coasters in 1988. This is the first time anyone has ever died on one of their rides in their 38 year history. 

It is WAY too early to tell what happened here but I would sooner believe that this was due to either the actions of the rider, a decision one of the ride ops made, or some sort of failure to catch a maintenance issue from the park’s maintenance staff than it being any fault in the ride. 

Why am I saying this? 

To remind you that despite the way the media and online personalities like to speak, coasters and parks are safe. Accidents are ridiculously rare, and whenever one does happen, changes are made to keep those accidents from happening again. 

On average, 4 people per year die on roller coasters and that includes people who died because of health issues rather than a fault of a ride. For reference, over 100 people die in car crashes per day. There has not been a coaster fatality due to a mechanical failure since 2003. That is how crazy rare these are. 

Nothing is 100% fool proof. There will always be accidents and tragedies in absolutely anything. But remember that millions of people ride coasters per year (to get an idea of how many, over 10 million people visit Magic Kingdom per year and that is one single park out of thousands) and they don’t die. 

And, if this turns out to be the fault of Six Flags Over Georgia due to maintenance negligence, also know that that does NOT impact any other Six Flags park. Every Six Flags park has their own site maintenance department so a failure of one does not mean it is a company wide failure. 

There is likely to be a LOT of sensationalism around this, a lot of incorrect suggestions, and a lot of huge assumptions. Just like there is with plane crashes. 

Don’t fall for it.

This is a uniquely tragic situation that represents a massive, massive anomaly in an industry that has a ridiculously good safety record. 

This is obviously very true, you're more likely to die in a car crash on the way to a theme park than on a rollercoaster

but something has happened here which is worrying, b&m are probably the most reliable manufacturer and yet the ORP shows his restraint open, last time this happened it was because someone who was.. To say politely, overweight and their belly shifted and they slipped out of their *still closed* restraint, this time the restraint looks like it's actually.. open? No idea how tf this has happened but we'll find out soon enough im sure

[Roughhouse Dandy 14,033]

Yeah, this kinda thing is almost statistically impossible. I've seen the safety checks and sensor protocols and like 5 separate things needed to individually fail all at once for this to happen and the ride to complete its course. 

That's crazy. RIP to that man and my heart goes out to everyone who had to witness that. I hope we get answers soon because I'm genuinely wondering how this happened. 

[monstertoronto 12,051]

This is so horrible. The headline was bad enough but to read the descriptions that he hit the cars three times and then hit a building before hitting the ground? Worst death ever it’s so awful. And he was with his son?? I hope that family wins a ton of money in a lawsuit. I also really need to know how this happened. 

[Future Lovers 7,935]

2 hours ago, Purrrrrr said:

This is obviously very true, you're more likely to die in a car crash on the way to a theme park than on a rollercoaster

but something has happened here which is worrying, b&m are probably the most reliable manufacturer and yet the ORP shows his restraint open, last time this happened it was because someone who was.. To say politely, overweight and their belly shifted and they slipped out of their *still closed* restraint, this time the restraint looks like it's actually.. open? No idea how tf this has happened but we'll find out soon enough im sure

If there was a failure of the ratchet or pin that holds the ratchet in place, I would have to imagine it’s on Six Flags.

The ride’s 20 years old so it was clearly designed and built perfectly. The only thing that could lead to a mechanical failure at this point would be the park failing to properly maintain it. 

Of course, it could not be a mechanical failure at all. The rider was indeed overweight so it’s possible I suppose he got a green-light in the station but was right on the cusp of it and when his weight shifted on the ride, it moved the ratchet forward. The odds of that are insanely astronomical but not impossible I suppose. 

What is most notay to me is that this happened to only one seat on one row. No other seat in the row had any sort of issue. I’m very curious to find out what exactly led to that. It suggests an issue with that one specific seat or that specific rider, rather than an issue with the train as a whole or the ride.

Edited 5 hours ago by Future Lovers