Six Flags is closing several rides in the U.S. and Canada, including the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, after a man died after falling from a roller coaster at a park in Georgia.
Park officials said Tuesday that the closure is out of an abundance of caution and is temporary.
Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, of Atlanta, was ejected from a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday afternoon and struck other passengers as he fell, the Cobb County Police Department said in a statement.
Karim landed underneath the roller coaster and police found him unconscious and not breathing just before 4pm.
The police force’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Park officials closed the Goliath roller coaster after the fatal incident.
“I cannot imagine the horror that our customers and employees witnessed today, and my heart breaks for the families who have lost their loved ones,” Cobb County Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said in a statement.
Located in the Atlanta suburb of Austell, Georgia, the park is “an important part of our tourism landscape, drawing visitors from across our county, state and Southeast,” Cupid wrote.
She added: “We are all grappling with how something so devastating could have happened in a place that has brought such happy memories to generations of families.”
Six Flags announced this week that in addition to Goliath in Georgia, it is closing the following similar rides:
- Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois.
- Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia
- Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, NJ
- Leviathan and Behemoth in Canada’s Wonderland, Vaughan, Ontario
- Fury 325 and Thunder Striker at Carowinds Stadium in Charlotte, NC
- Orion and Rattlesnake at Kings Island, Ohio
Earlier this year, Six Flags celebrated the 20th anniversary of Goliath in Georgia. The park website describes it as a “thrilling thrill ride at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour” and reaches heights of up to 200 feet.
A few weeks ago, Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia’s famous X2 roller coaster permanently closed in September due to a history of injuries, some of which resulted in death.
The ride was first temporarily closed in July after reports of brain injuries. The ride, originally called the X, opened in 2002, and a few months later it had to close to fix design flaws. Then, in 2007, it closed again to replace lighter trains and reopened the following year as the X2. It has long been one of the park’s main attractions and features seats that rotate 360 degrees forward and back. Magic Mountain said in a statement that more than 16 million people have ridden the X2.
The X2 has long been praised by cycling enthusiasts for its design. The seat is located on the track side, and when the seat is rotated forward or backward, the rider’s feet can swing under or over it. Riders would initially climb the slope facing backwards, and at the top their seats would rotate forward and head-first toward the ground.
“While X2 has always passed multiple safety tests, we made the decision to close the ride because we believe it is the right thing to do,” Six Flags Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding said in a statement last month. “Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business and we take it seriously when we see passenger confidence being impacted.”