Fox News reports that a woman was thrown from a roller coster to her death on Friday at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington.
Investigators are still piecing together exactly what happened, but there are initial reports that the woman may have expressed concern that her safety restraint on the Texas Giant roller coaster, a ride billed as the steepest wooden coaster anywhere, was not properly secured.
Carmen Brown of Arlington was waiting to get on the ride at the same time as the woman and said, “They didn’t secure her right. One of the employees from the park — one of the ladies — she asked her to click her more than once, and they were like, `As long you heard it click, you’re OK.’ Everybody else is like, `Click, click, click.’ Hers only clicked once. Hers was the only one that went down once, and she didn’t feel safe, but they let her still get on the ride.”
Brown said she was next in line behind the woman and saw her being strapped into her seat next to her son. “We heard her screaming. We were like, `Did she just fall?”‘ Brown said.
The park issued a statement about the woman’s death and closed the ride.
“We are deeply saddened to share that earlier this evening an adult woman died in the park while on the Texas Giant. Park medical staff and local paramedics responded immediately. Since the safety of our guests and employees is our number one priority, the ride has been closed pending further investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends during this difficult time,” the statement said.
The identity of the woman has not yet been released.
The accident comes on the same day that a water ride at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio also malfunctioned, rolling backward down its initial hill and flipping over backward, injuring 7 people.