Woman killed in ride at Six Flags TX

[Blondie in Spokane]

I agree....it's basically a re-hash of previous articles, just emphasizing that the safety procedures are being looked into.....same info different header, I guess lol

 

[Yoda]

The restraints for the ride. I can see how, if a person was overweight, the bar would not be at the proper angle to hold her down. Jmo

 

[Penelope]

The restraints for the ride. I can see how, if a person was overweight, the bar would not be at the proper angle to hold her down. Jmo

Wow! Is that a photo of the restraints on that actual roller coaster? They don't look very secure to me.

I don't want to insult overweight people -- I myself am at least 50 pounds overweight -- but I do think that there was a problem with the equipment that caused it not to secure the woman in properly (source), and some commenters have theorized that it was because she may have been overweight. I hope that Six Flags and the authorities fully investigate and this never, ever happens again.

Whatever the reason, it is a horrific accident and I hope it happened so fast that she did not suffer. My condolences and prayers go to her family -- her children must be regretting taking her on that ride and will probably suffer nightmares for the rest of their lives.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

The restraints for the ride. I can see how, if a person was overweight, the bar would not be at the proper angle to hold her down. Jmo

For a :rollercoaster: that appears to have some corkscrew twists and turns, those seats don't look at all comfortable: No padding - uch:

And no shoulder harness or safety bar that pulls down over riders' heads :nerves: I'm :scared: just looking at it! Think I'll pass :blushing:

 

[Hopeful One]

I feel horrible for the son who saw it happen. I can't even imagine.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

For a :rollercoaster: that appears to have some corkscrew twists and turns, those seats don't look at all comfortable: No padding - uch:

And no shoulder harness or safety bar that pulls down over riders' heads :nerves: I'm :scared: just looking at it! Think I'll pass :blushing:

ITA....can't believe there are no shoulder harnesses.

 

[JDB]

I was once told I could not ride the DROPZONE at Great America because the safety device would not latch properly. Yea I was 40 lbs overweight at the time . From what I read this morning this one everyone heard it only click once and normally it clicks twice what secured right. And people were saying latch it or something like that :-(

 

[LaborDayRN]

After seeing this woman's picture and hearing the eyewitness who stated she didn't feel she was secure in her seat harness, I am betting that some major changes will be made to the guidelines for these types of rides. Mainly size/weight restriction. I am a big girl myself, and I don't judge anyone for his or her weight, but we have to be honest with ourselves that some things are just not safe for certain sizes. If you cannot fit in the safety features properly, it is just a risk not worth taking to ride.

I am in no way victim blaming. I am saying those who build the rides and write the guidelines should be more sensitive to weight and size. They are the experts, after all.

I sure hope so there will be changes. I'm not totally confident though as a similar incident happened at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1978:

Colossus
In 1978, a 20-year-old woman fell out of the ride. The lap bar did not lock in place due to the woman's size. One of the old cars has been sent to the Sky Tower

Incidents at Six Flags parks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I know it's only a Wikipedia quote, but strangely I'm having trouble finding other info. I do however remember it clearly as I live near by.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Woman's fatal fall from Six Flags coaster probed

6 hours ago

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A woman who died while riding a 14-story roller coaster at Six Flags amusement park in North Texas apparently fell from the ride, police said.

Park spokeswoman Sharon Parker confirmed that a woman died while riding the Texas Giant roller coaster — dubbed the tallest steel-hybrid coaster in the world — but did not give specifics of what happened.

"We are committed to determining the cause of this tragic accident and will utilize every resource throughout this process," Parker said in a statement Saturday. "It would be a disservice to the family to speculate regarding what transpired."

Arlington Police Sgt. Christopher Cook told The Associated Press that police believe the woman fell from the ride at the Six Flags Over Texas park. He added that there appears to have been no foul play...

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20130720/US-Six-Flags-Woman-Dies/

 

[Nova]

It's actually probably safer today that in the past because there's a lot more regulations that have sprouted up due to accidents in past decades. For example, there was a fire at a haunted castle at Six Flags Great Adventure in 1984 that killed eight teenagers. The building didn't even have a sprinkler system, no fire drills, the wall was made of inflammable material. But due to that tragedy, there's been so many rules and restrictions passed where something like it could never happen again. There was another accident, I think in California, that caused an organization to start that would regulate all the rides to make sure they were safe.

Also, a lot of ride accidents are caused by the guests' own negligence.

I was on the team that defended against the haunted-house fire murder charge. (I worked legal support, I'm not a lawyer.) But trust me: Six Flag parks had a long history of accidents and safety violations even before that.

One would like to think such accidents end in improved safety regulations, but as with other industries, sometimes a cost/benefit analysis shows it's cheaper to pay insurance premiums than to fix the rides. (I'm speaking in general in this paragraph, not specifically about Six Flags Corp.)

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162...r-inspecting-six-flags-ride-where-woman-died/

"German roller coaster maker inspecting Six Flags ride where woman died"

 

[cityslick]

I'm pretty sure Six Flags can look forward to a nice big lawsuit headed their way. Normally the attendant pulls up on the restraint for lap bars to make sure it is secure, not sure if that was done in this instance. I will say if that were me and I thought the restraint wasn't secure, I'd be getting off that ride before anything else.

Although it's never happened to me, I've been with people who are overweight where the restraint doesn't come down properly (both cases it was a shoulder harness though) and they just say you can't ride. It's a pretty embarrasing thing but it's better than being unsafe.

 

[nursebeeme]

at cedar point (in sandusky, ohio same place as bette posted the article about the boat ride accident) they have example seats at the start of every huge ride so you can sit in the seat to see if you fit. Their policy is if the restraint doesn't fit you are not going to ride (so you can try out the seats before you stand in line for two hours)

I am hedging a bet that this lap bar was not checked by the ride attendant properly. They do it so fast it is easy to miss one. (re: the article that had a witness say they only heard one click vs the typical two clicks). I am wondering if the light would turn green for the ride on one click? Could also be a ride glitch.

(btw I am a roller coaster lover and this story absolutely freaked me out.. and I am so sorry for this woman, her son, and all the witnesses, etc)

One time I was on the iron dragon at cedar point and a woman got hit in the face by a seagull!!! (it is right on lake erie and they are all over the park). We got stuck up in the air sideways for two hours not knowing what happened!!!!! That was really scary.

Another coaster story? I was on the millenium force at cedar point when the anthony verdict came in and I got the text alert.

I hope they are able to get to the bottom of what happened with this accident. I am betting it will be a combination of factors.

Does anyone know if they have the seats (like I described) at the start of the line like cedar point does? (I guess that wouldn't matter either because people still will not check and wait in line and get turned away).

 

[nursebeeme]

A witness to the death of the woman who fell from a Texas roller coaster last week said she overheard the victim tell an employee before the ride departed that her lap bar might not be secure.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/flags-roll...s-victim-questioned-secured/story?id=19731762

oh that is just terrible! she even told an employee!

 

[21merc7]

This is horrible, that poor woman! Her poor family!

When we were young, Dad would ride with us, mom would not. Guess she was afraid, can't say I blame her.

When DD was young I would ride these with her. I was always afraid. The over the neck shoulder harness didn't seem safe once flipped upside down. Small frame bodies could slide out. The lap harness seems even more useless, regardless. They all beat my head against the sides as they are so rough a ride, padding didn't really help, was always dazed and had a headache that I would hide from DD. Of course she loved every minute of the rides!

I see in one of the articles posted that there have been many accidents at these parks, every few years it seems. One would think that "budget" should not come into play where lives are concerned. I did hear on t.v. that the safety rules and regulations are not very strict yet. Don't know if that is true or not. I do know there is always at least one ride down for a few hours or an entire day due to a problem.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

at cedar point (in sandusky, ohio same place as bette posted the article about the boat ride accident) they have example seats at the start of every huge ride so you can sit in the seat to see if you fit. Their policy is if the restraint doesn't fit you are not going to ride (so you can try out the seats before you stand in line for two hours)

I am hedging a bet that this lap bar was not checked by the ride attendant properly. They do it so fast it is easy to miss one. (re: the article that had a witness say they only heard one click vs the typical two clicks). I am wondering if the light would turn green for the ride on one click? Could also be a ride glitch.

(btw I am a roller coaster lover and this story absolutely freaked me out.. and I am so sorry for this woman, her son, and all the witnesses, etc)

One time I was on the iron dragon at cedar point and a woman got hit in the face by a seagull!!! (it is right on lake erie and they are all over the park). We got stuck up in the air sideways for two hours not knowing what happened!!!!! That was really scary.

Another coaster story? I was on the millenium force at cedar point when the anthony verdict came in and I got the text alert.

I hope they are able to get to the bottom of what happened with this accident. I am betting it will be a combination of factors.

Does anyone know if they have the seats (like I described) at the start of the line like cedar point does? (I guess that wouldn't matter either because people still will not check and wait in line and get turned away).

I haven't been to Cedar Point for a while but noticed at WDW in January that signs describing the "thrill" rides have warnings about riders with heart, blood pressure, spine, etc. conditions, pregnancy, and those who are overweight should not ride. DH and I didn't do any coasters on our visit, but I think it's safe to say that Disney employees would be instructed to not allow riders who were not eligible to board the coaster. Attendants appear to be very alert when passengers board and/or exit rides.

I used to love :rollercoaster: but not so much any more. My sister and I took her two kids to CP several years ago, and nephew talked me into riding the Magnum with him. As we started up that first enormous hill, I wondered, "What the he!! was I thinking!" I closed my eyes at the top and didn't open them until we were safely back at the terminal. Never again! :blushing:

[video=youtube;EzBIkPdJ2Ic]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzBIkPdJ2Ic[/video]

 

[eileenhawkeye]

From comments online, people are saying that the ride doesn't click. Also, the same person who told the clicking story also claimed that they could see her fall off the ride from the station. But she fell off the ride in a part that wasn't visible to waiting riders. So take what this witness says with a grain of salt.

 

[cityslick]

For context, keep in mind that you have a better chance of dying or even getting injured in a car accident than from a thrill ride. I think I saw one article that put the odds of actually dying from a ride that is mounted to the ground as 1 in 24 million (which I think puts that up there around dying in a airplane accident).

 

[eileenhawkeye]

I was on the team that defended against the haunted-house fire murder charge. (I worked legal support, I'm not a lawyer.) But trust me: Six Flag parks had a long history of accidents and safety violations even before that.

One would like to think such accidents end in improved safety regulations, but as with other industries, sometimes a cost/benefit analysis shows it's cheaper to pay insurance premiums than to fix the rides. (I'm speaking in general in this paragraph, not specifically about Six Flags Corp.)

I guess it varies by park how much effort they put into safety, but with the low accidents a year, compared to how many times the ride runs without incident, tells me that safety regulations must be followed pretty well. Also, most accidents are caused by the guests' own negligence. I do think every state should have an organization, separate from the parks, that makes sure all rides are safe and secure, and it should all be enforced.

I'm almost done with a book about the haunted castle fire. I wonder whatever happened to John Frey. If he's not in jail now, I imagine that he has a huge secret most people who know him have no idea about.

 

[oh_gal]

I'm so sorry for this poor lady and her family; and anyone who witnessed what happened that day. So, so sad.