What happened in the Six Flags Georgia incident? Man dies as second ride hit by tragedy
‘The vehicle hit him, and then he flew back up again, and it hit him again,’ a witness says
A man has died after being “flung” from a rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, according to a report.
The tragic incident, which occurred while the man was sitting with his son and left several others injured, occurred on the famous Goliath ride. A witness told 11Alive that the man was hit several times by the vehicle.
“A young male was ejected from the vehicle,” they claimed. “The vehicle hit him, and then he flew back up again, and it hit him again.”
The witness added, “That’s when he was, I guess, flung from the ride.”
Now, the Cobb County Police Department says that its major crimes unit is launching an investigation into the incident.
The ride is the second rollercoaster at a Six Flags park to make headlines in recent weeks after lawsuits alleged that another caused traumatic brain injury.
But what is the Goliath and what was the other Six Flags ride to make headlines?
Dubbed the “monumental hypercoaster,” the Goliath stretches up to 200 feet into the air and takes thrill-seekers on a 70-mile-per-hour journey, according to Six Flags’ website.
The rollercoaster ride lasts for around 210 seconds and the track is about 4,480 feet in length.
The Goliath is a form of hypercoaster - meaning that has a height or drop measuring between 200 and 299 feet.
Many hypercoasters do not feature loops, instead opting to have large hill-shaped tracks that allow trains to reach high speeds and for riders to feel a sense of weightlessness.
The Goliath first opened all the way back in 2006 and was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard.
Authorities have not yet confirmed how the man died nor how the others were injured.
However, one witness told 11Alive that the man fell onto another person on the rollercoaster.
“He didn’t fall directly onto us. He fell onto a girl two rows in front of us,” she claimed. “He fell and hit the cart three different times.”
“His son was sitting right beside him. His wife and daughter were not on the ride; they were at the bottom and had no idea,” the witness continued.
Following the incident, a spokesperson for the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation confirmed to The Associated Press that the organization had decided to close rollercoasters similar to the Goliath at a number of its parks “out of an abundance of caution.”
Six Flags Over Georgia is located around 20 miles from Atlanta, in Cobb County.
Lisa Cupid, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners chairwoman, confirmed to the publication that the late man’s next of kin has been notified.
“I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” 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.”
According to the International Association of Amusement Parks, the chance of being seriously injured on a fixed-site ride at U.S. amusement parks is 1 in 15.5 million rides.
During an average year, more than 385 million people took around 1.7 billion rides at 400 North American fixed-site facilities.
The man’s death at Six Flags Over Georgia is the seventh to take place at the park and follows another death that unfolded on the Goliath back in 2006.
According to the Doan Law Firm, the man was found dead after suffering an apparent heart attack. He was later discovered to have a congenital heart condition.
Six Flags has been in the headlines in recent weeks after several lawsuits alleged that its X2 ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain caused traumatic brain injuries.
The X2 was closed after nearly 20 years, with Six Flags recently settling a wrongful-death lawsuit. The lawsuit followed the death of a 22-year-old graduate who died after riding the rollercoaster in 2022.
Dordick Law Corporation said that its services have been retained by more than 100 clients who allege traumatic brain injuries after riding the X2, with the firm confirming that several lawsuits have already been filed.
Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding has said in a statement that closing the ride was “the right thing to do” – but that it had passed a number of safety tests.
“While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do,” Oerding said. “Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”
The X2 differed from the Goliath because it is a fourth-dimension rollercoaster, which means that its seats could rotate 360 degrees independently of the track.
