**Tragedy at Six Flags Over Georgia**
On Monday afternoon, tragedy struck at Six Flags Over Georgia in Georgia, USA. A male passenger riding the popular high-altitude roller coaster “Goliath” was ejected and tragically killed. Authorities revealed on Tuesday that the 42-year-old man was thrown out of his seat, collided with other visitors, and then fell beneath the amusement ride.
The horrifying moment when the man fell from the roller coaster was witnessed by on-site visitors on Monday. In response to the incident, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation temporarily closed nine similar roller coaster projects in the United States and Canada.
Investigators and the theme park have yet to clarify how the victim was ejected from his seat.
“It was too terrifying to witness,” said Summer Bates, who was at the park with her husband and three children, speaking to the Associated Press. “One thing that will probably haunt us for life is the sound his body made when it fell.”
Bates mentioned that she and her family had also ridden the “Goliath” roller coaster earlier that day. The ride stands as the park’s highest roller coaster, towering at 200 feet (about 61 meters) above the entrance; the safety restraint system consists of a lap bar pressing against passengers’ legs and waists without a safety belt.
“My two older children were in the car in front of us,” she said. “I noticed they kept trying to push the lap bar down tighter. I reassured them it was fine at the time. But when my husband, younger son, and I boarded the car and began to ascend, I quickly understood why those two kids wanted it tighter. The feeling was indeed unstable and not tight enough.”
According to the Cobb County Police Department, the victim was identified as 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem. Officials have not disclosed any information about other visitors who were injured by the man.
Kariem, as per his online resume, was previously an Information Technology Manager at a public charter school in Atlanta and had been a technology teacher at the school.
Another witness, Logan Conner, told the Associated Press that he was riding the “Goliath” roller coaster with his fiancee and witnessed the man being ejected from his seat.
“The man’s body started tilting towards the void,” he told NBC. “We made direct eye contact with him.”
Britny Landry, who had ridden the attraction earlier that day, was in line to experience it again when the tragedy occurred.
“We were looking over that way and suddenly saw someone go flying out,” she told WAGA-TV. Initially uncertain of what she saw, she thought it might have been someone’s belongings falling.
The amusement park where the tragedy unfolded is located in Mableton, northwest of Atlanta. The park was closed on Tuesday, with another train of the “Goliath” roller coaster seen stopped at the top of the first slope, presumably where the deceased man fell from before the involved train came to a halt.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation stated that they have temporarily closed nine similar roller coasters in six theme parks in the United States and Canada. These parks were originally scheduled to have midweek closures on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, responsible for overseeing amusement ride inspections, spokesperson Garrison Bennett stated that the department is conducting a “thorough and comprehensive review.”
The Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard, responsible for manufacturing this roller coaster and many others worldwide, mentioned that they are actively investigating the accident and will not make further comments until they have a deeper understanding of the incident.
In a statement, the company expressed, “We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident. Our hearts go out to the family of the victim and those affected.”
The Swiss-designed “Goliath” roller coaster has been operating in Georgia for 20 years, reaching a top speed of 70 miles per hour (approximately 112 kilometers per hour) on steep downhill sections, emphasizing high-speed experiences and plunging sensations rather than looping or spiraling tracks to invert passengers. It is far from the tallest or fastest roller coaster globally.
According to the Doan law firm, which specializes in amusement park accidents and represents victims, the park in Georgia has witnessed at least 7 fatalities since 1989, including two individuals who were struck and killed by roller coasters for entering restricted areas, and two others who died in accidents.
The law firm mentioned that back in 2006, a man died of a suspected heart attack while riding the “Goliath” roller coaster.
Just under two weeks before this latest fatality, Six Flags Magic Mountain announced the retirement of its X2 roller coaster, which had faced multiple lawsuits alleging passengers suffered severe brain injuries. The California park had reached a settlement with the family of a 22-year-old man in a wrongful death lawsuit; the man died in 2022 after riding a roller coaster.
Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt force trauma after riding a high-speed roller coaster at Universal Epic Universe theme park in Universal Orlando Resort.