A person died and several others were injured at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday, officials said, after witnesses reported seeing a man fall from a roller coaster.
The Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications confirmed the death but did not provide additional details about the incident about 4 p.m. at the amusement park just outside Atlanta.
Cobb County Police said multiple park-goers were injured, though it’s not clear exactly how. The department’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Witnesses who spoke to NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta said they saw a man fall from the Goliath roller coaster, and at least two people said they saw him strike parts of the ride before he hit the ground.
“He fell and hit the car three different times,” a witness told the station.
“We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest’s family, friends, and loved ones,” a park spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson added that the park was providing support to guests and employees and that details would not be immediately released “out of respect for the family’s privacy.”
Logan Conner said he was on the ride with his fiancé when he saw the man come out of his seat on Goliath.
“The man started levitating in the air sideways,” he said. “We made direct eye contact with him.”
A witness told WXIA that the man who fell had been sitting with a child.
Video showed riders exiting the roller coaster after it paused mid-ride.
Goliath, designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers of Switzerland, opened in 2006 and features a drop of more than 200 feet, which places it in the category of hyper coaster.
A Six Flags spokesperson said by email Monday night that it has temporarily closed similar rides at the company’s other North American locations “out of an abundance of caution.”
Those rides include Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America; Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain; Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure; Leviathan and Behemoth at Canada’s Wonderland; Fury 325 and Thunder Striker at Carowinds; and Orion and Diamondback at Kings Island, the spokesperson said.
In September, Six Flags was named in multiple lawsuits after riders alleged to have suffered brain injuries on the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California. It includes 360-degree rotating seats, a 215-foot drop and sudden flips and rotations.
That coaster has been closed since July 12, a day after attorney Christopher Bulone said one of the plaintiffs suffered catastrophic brain injury after a ride.
Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding said in a Sept. 29 statement that X2 was being retired because “it’s the right thing to do” after guest confidence in its safety was affected.
Six Flags Over Georgia is about 10 miles west of downtown Atlanta.
