Warning: This story includes distressing content A man has died after falling from a rollercoaster at a Six Flags amusement park on Monday in the US state of Georgia. The man, Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, was found dead under the ride after being ejected and hitting other people on it, according to police. An investigation is under way and few details have yet to be released about what happened.
Six Flags, the largest amusement park operator in North America, has temporarily closed nine rides across the US and Canada as a precaution. Here's what we know so far about the incident. The Cobb County Police Department said the incident at the Six Flags Over Georgia park happened just before 16:00 local time ( ) on Monday.
"Officers working at the park responded to an incident involving a male guest on a roller coaster," it said in a statement on Tuesday. "Preliminary information gathered through witness and employee interview indicates Kariem was ejected from the ride and struck other patrons before falling beneath the attraction." The ride involved has not been specified but aerial footage from news helicopters showed the Goliath rollercoaster stopped midway, and multiple witnesses have identified the ride as the one involved in the incident. The office of the state's insurance and fire safety commissioner, which enforces amusement park safety rules in Georgia, is also conducting a review.
Officials have not held a news conference on the incident. The Goliath ride opened in 2006, and it has an elevation of 200ft (60m), a 170ft plunge, a 540-degree spiral, and a speed of up to 70mph (112km/h), according to the park website. On its "thrill scale", Six Flags ranks Goliath at level four out of five.
The company said in a statement that it was "deeply saddened by the guest incident" and that "our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest's family, friends, and loved ones". Nick Mendenhall said he witnessed the fatal moments in disbelief, watching the man come out of his seat and then fall into another cart on the ride before falling to the ground. "It was just super, super bizarre, traumatic.
I mean, it took me a couple of seconds, I feel like, to process what was going on," he told the AP. "I cant believe that I just saw that." He said his mind instantly went to the trauma of all of those impacted by what he witnessed, including the man's loved ones and everyone who was on the ride with him. One witness told NBC affiliate WXIA that the incident was captured in souvenir photos that were automatically taken of the rollercoaster while it was in motion.
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