A woman fell to her death while riding the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags on Friday. (Dallas News)
A woman fell to her death while riding a roller coaster at Six Flags in Arlington, Texas on Friday night, reports the Dallas News.
The woman was riding the Texas Giant, a steel-and-wood hybrid roller coaster that reaches 14 stories high and has a 79-degree drop. Witnesses say that the woman’s restraint may have come undone.
Carmen Brown was waiting in line as the victim and her son were being strapped in for the ride.
“She was right in front of us, but we weren’t on the ride,” Brown said. “The lady basically tumbled over. We heard her screaming. We were, like, ‘Did she just fall?’”
Brown also said that the woman was afraid that her restraint wasn’t secured correctly because it only clicked once when the others clicked multiple times when they were lowered into place. The attendant put her through anyway.
“He was basically nonchalant,” Brown said. “He was, like, ‘As long as you heard it click, you’re fine. Hers was the only one that went down once, and she didn’t feel safe. But they let her still get on the ride.”
The amusement park addressed the incident in a brief statement and tweeted that the section of the park was temporarily closed:
We are deeply saddened about a death this evening on the Texas Giant. Our prayers are with the family and friends.
— Six Flags Over Texas (@SixFlagsOverTX) July 20, 2013
Safety is our top priority and that section of the park has been temporarily closed.
— Six Flags Over Texas (@SixFlagsOverTX) July 20, 2013
The Texas Giant was built in 1990 as the world’s tallest wooden roller coaster, but was closed in 2006 to convert it to a steel-and-wood hybrid. Friday’s accident was the second fatality since the park opened in 1961. In 1999, Valeria Cartwright drowned when her raft capsized on the Roaring Rapids.