The Goliath rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia was reportedly closed for maintenance just hours before Hassan Kariem was thrown from the ride and killed, as officials investigate its restraints and safety systems.
Kariem, 42, was ejected near the final turn on Monday afternoon, striking the rollercoaster’s structure several times before landing behind a haunted-house attraction. Police found him unresponsive and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Four other people were taken to hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
Tina Christiansen and Emily Nguyen said they had tried to ride Goliath at about 1pm but were told there would be a delay while maintenance staff attended.
“They made an announcement over the intercom, first saying, ‘We’re experiencing delays,’ and then a few minutes later, they said, ‘We’re waiting for maintenance to get here,’” Christiansen said.
The pair said they saw a member of staff carry out several maintenance runs, including one ride alone in the front row.
“I remember us looking at each other, like, ‘You could not pay me enough to do that job,’” Nguyen said.
Witnesses to the later incident said the ride’s restraints had made a “weird clicking” sound and that staff checked them several times before the carriage carrying Kariem departed.
Logan Conner, who was in the same carriage, said passengers made “direct eye contact” with Kariem as he fell head-first from the train. He said Kariem appeared to be “levitating” beside the track before striking the ride.
State officials and Cobb County major-crimes detectives are examining the lap-bar restraints, locking mechanisms and computerised safety sensors as part of the investigation.
Christiansen and Nguyen said they returned to the area later and found it cordoned off, with security staff, crying visitors and ambulances nearby. They were told the park was being evacuated after someone had fallen from Goliath.
Goliath rollercoaster closed after fatal incident
Six Flags has closed Goliath and shut more than ten other rollercoasters across the country “out of an abundance of caution”. Six Flags Over Georgia is scheduled to reopen on Friday.
Safety records covering more than a dozen parks in three states show previous maintenance-related incidents, including train derailments, defective restraint bars and injuries such as dislocated joints and concussions.
Lawsuits filed by two investors last year allege that, before Six Flags merged with rival Cedar Fair, the company delayed basic maintenance, infrastructure repairs and ride upgrades while cutting staff.
Investor calls cited in the lawsuits allegedly included one executive referring to a need to invest in “deferred items”, while another said the “list is always long” for improvements. The claims have not been established.
Theme-park expert Robert Niles said incidents in which riders are thrown from rollercoasters were extremely rare, but cautioned that the investigation would be needed to establish what happened.
“This wasn’t obviously a case of something wrong with the guest. That there may have been something wrong with the ride,” he said.
He added: “This sounds like a freak accident that we will definitely need to get the results from an investigation to fully understand.”
