Six Flags temporarily closed nine roller coasters at six amusement parks Monday after one person died and several others were injured in a roller coaster incident in Georgia.
Authorities have not confirmed how the person died, how others were injured or their condition after the incident at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta.
Detectives with the Cobb County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit are investigating.
Park attractions similar to the roller coaster in Austell, Ga., were closed “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a Six Flags Entertainment Corporation spokesperson, who said staff members and local authorities responded immediately and the park is cooperating with the investigation.
“We are deeply saddened by the incident at our park today,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company was providing support to affected customers and staff.
Authorities and Six Flags have not identified the roller coaster. However, local television stations broadcast video of passengers being evacuated from the Goliath roller coaster.
Goliath, which opened in 2006, reaches a top speed of 70 mph (113 km/h) with a height of 200 feet (61 meters), according to the park’s website.
For about 3 1/2 minutes, riders “navigate tight turns and fly over colossal hills,” the website says.
Lisa Cupid, chairwoman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, said the deceased person’s next of kin have been notified.
“I cannot imagine the horror that customers and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” Cupid said. “We all wonder how something so devastating could happen in a place that has given generations of families such happy memories. »
The park is an important part of the county’s tourism and draws visitors from throughout the Southeast, Cupid said.
The death would be at least the seventh at the Georgia park, including one in 2006 in which a man likely had a heart attack on the Goliath roller coaster, according to the Doan Law Firm, which records amusement park accidents and represents victims.
It also comes less than two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California announced the withdrawal of its famous X2 roller coaster following lawsuits alleging a serious brain injury caused by the journey. The park has settled a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the roller coaster in 2022.
Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt force injuries. after riding a high-speed roller coaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida. His death was ruled accidental.
Gn usa
