One dead following incident on Goliath roller coaster
Updated ,first published
Georgia, USA: One person has died and several others were injured in an incident involving a roller coaster in Georgia, according to police.
The tragedy occurred on Monday afternoon (US time) on the Goliath rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park, about 25 kilometres north-west of Atlanta, according to the Cobb County Police Department.
Detectives with the department’s major crimes unit will investigate the incident.
Officials did not confirm how the person died or what caused the others to be injured.
Witnesses who spoke to NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta said they saw a man fall from the Goliath roller coaster, with at least two saying they saw him strike parts of the ride multiple times before hitting the ground.
“He fell and hit the car three different times,” one said, NBC reported.
“The man started levitating in the air sideways,” said another witness, Logan Conner, who was on the ride at the time. “We made direct eye contact with him.”
A Six Flags spokesperson said the park and local authorities responded immediately and that they were fully cooperating with investigations into the incident.
“We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today,” the spokesperson said.
Authorities and Six Flags did not identify the roller coaster. However, local TV stations showed video of passengers being evacuated from the Goliath coaster.
The roller coaster, which was opened in 2006, goes as fast as about 110km/h and reaches heights of 61 metres, the park’s website reports. During about 3½ minutes, riders “navigate through razor-sharp turns and soar over colossal hills,” according to the website.
This death would be at least the seventh at the Georgia park, including one in 2006 in which a man had a likely heart attack on the Goliath coaster, according to the Doan Law Firm, whose practice areas include amusement park accidents.
Last month, Six Flags Magic Mountain, in southern California, announced that it was retiring its famous X2 roller coaster amid lawsuits alleging serious brain injury caused by the ride.
Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022. Three more lawsuits alleging traumatic brain injuries were filed last week.
Last year, a 32-year-old man died after riding a high-speed roller coaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida. He died from blunt impact injuries and his death was ruled accidental.
More to come
