Officials are investigating what caused a man to fall from his seat and plummet to his death on the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday. The victim has been identified as Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old school employee from Atlanta. Witnesses reported seeing him ejected from the ride, and some riders before him said they had concerns about the restraints.
Sea World Orlando and La Ronde in Montreal confirmed they had temporarily closed roller coasters on Thursday, bringing the total number of halted coasters to 11. Nine of those coasters share the same manufacturer and a similar restraint system as the Goliath coaster in Georgia. Both Sea World Orlando’s Mako coaster and La Ronde’s Goliath coaster were built by Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss company that also manufactured the Georgia ride.
Riders have reported issues with the restraints on the Goliath coaster. Erica Billups said her son tried to lock a seat’s restraint about an hour before the incident, but it repeatedly became unlocked, so he moved to another seat. Summer Bates said her children kept trying to push their restraints down tighter during the ride because they did not feel secure. Six Flags did not respond to a request for comment on restraint issues.
The restraint system in question is a clamshell design mounted on a vertical bar between the rider’s knees, locking over the lap and upper legs. It is unclear from available images whether any of the closed coasters have seat belts or other secondary restraints. The Goliath coaster in Georgia does not have such backup restraints. Six Flags later removed its Magic Mountain Goliath coaster from the list of closed rides, noting it has a different manufacturer and restraint system.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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