Six Flags closes 9 roller coasters after 1 person died in an incident involving a coaster in Georgia

A Six Flags spokesperson said the park and local authorities responded immediately and that they are fully cooperating with local authorities as they investigate.

“We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today,” the spokesperson said, adding that they are providing support to the guests and team members impacted.

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, reaches top speeds of 70 mph (about 113 kph) and heights of 200 feet (61 meters), the park’s website reports. During about 3 1/2 minutes, riders “navigate through razor-sharp turns and soar over colossal hills,” according to the website.

“I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” Lisa Cupid, Cobb County Board of Commissioners chairwoman, said in a statement. She added that next of kin have been notified.

The amusement park is a major part of the county’s tourism and brings in visitors from across the Southeast, Cupid said.

“We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories,” she said.

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, which focuses on amusement park accidents.

It also comes less than two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain, in Southern California, announced that it is retiring its famous X2 roller coaster amid lawsuits alleging serious brain injury caused by the ride. The park had settled one wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022.

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.

Hallie Golden, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Six Flags closes 9 roller coasters after 1 person died in an incident involving a coaster in Georgia

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