Six Flags adding seat belts to Goliath rollercoaster following death
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Six Flags has announced it will be adding seat belts to some of its rollercoasters after a man fell to his death on the Goliath ride in the US state of Georgia earlier this month.
The company’s CEO John Reilly said in a letter to customers late on Friday that the company is reinforcing safety measure across its parks, including adding seat belts to Goliath and similar rides, which already feature lap bar restraints.
The chain of amusement parks has 34 locations across North America, with over 220 rollercoasters in total.
Georgia’s Goliath ride will remain closed pending safety reviews and out of an abundance of caution, so will eight other rides at five other parks, Reilly added.
The CEO also said the company has hired independent engineers and ride inspection specialists to review safety procedures across all its amusement parks. The company is committed to taking action based on the experts’ findings and will share progress updates, he said.
On 12 October, a 42-year-old man named Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem was killed at Six Flags Over Georgia after being ejected from the Goliath, police have said. Four other passengers were injured as he fell.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
“Our hearts remain with the family and loved ones of Hassan Kariem, those injured, and everyone impacted by the tragic incident,” Reilly said in his letter.
“What happened has deeply affected all of us at Six Flags,” he added.
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
What we know about the deadly Six Flags rollercoaster incident in Georgia
Over 28 million guests visit Six Flags locations every year, according to the company’s website.
October’s fatal incident was not the first time a passenger has been hurt at one of the parks.
An Iraq War veteran died in 2011 after being ejected from a ride in New York. In 2013, a woman died after slipping from her restraints and falling 75 feet from a coaster in Texas.
In 2022, a 22-year-old man died from a brain injury after riding the X2 coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. His family settled a wrongful death suit with the theme park in August.
The following month, the California park announced it was closing its X2 rollercoaster after more 100 people alleged that they had suffered brain injuries from the ride.
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