Six Flags to reopen Friday amid ongoing roller coaster death investigation
Six Flags Over Georgia is slated to reopen Friday evening, as officials pledged a thorough investigation into what caused an Atlanta educator to be ejected from a popular roller coaster midride.
The amusement park’s gates are set to open at 6 p.m. for the first time since the deadly Monday incident.
“No one could have anticipated that something this grave would occur here,” Cobb County Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who previously lived near Six Flags, said at a news conference held just hours before.
Hassan Kariem, 42, was on Goliath, one of the park’s top attractions, when authorities said he came out of his seat and struck other riders as he plummeted from the ride. The coaster will remain closed until the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire completes its investigation.
A Cobb police incident report said Kariem landed on a building below, but numerous questions remain about what went wrong.
“Certainly, people want to know what happened and what it means going forward,” Cupid said. “And I believe that those are fair questions.”
Authorities have not released any investigative findings, saying it would take time to figure out exactly what occurred.
Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King said his agency is working “around the clock” to examine the roller coaster and the circumstances.
Investigators and engineers remained at Six Flags this week as they reviewed evidence, equipment and relevant documentation, King said in a statement Thursday.
“The department’s investigative team is conducting an in-depth examination of the ride, its operation and records to determine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy and whether all applicable state safety requirements were followed,” King said in a news release.
No violations were reported during Goliath’s most recent inspection in March, King said.
Six Flags, meanwhile, said this week it closed nine similar roller coasters at its other North America theme parks “out of an abundance of caution.”
In a statement Friday, the park’s president, Richard Pretlow, extended condolences to Kariem’s loved ones. He also said the safety of Six Flags guests and team members remains the park’s top priority.
“As efforts to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident continue, we remain focused on supporting those affected and maintaining the safe operation of our park and attractions,” he said.
He said the park’s rides undergo rigorous inspections, and added that Six Flags staff receive training to safely operate and maintain the rides.
“While serious incidents of this nature are exceedingly rare, we never take responsibility to our guests for granted and remain committed to continuously strengthening our operations and safety practices,” Pretlow said.
Cobb police said it’s ongoing investigation does not include inspecting theme park machinery, which is the purview of the state’s insurance and safety fire office.
If no criminal charges are deemed necessary, the police department’s portion of the review will be closed, Deputy Chief Damon Ballard told reporters.
Kariem spent more than a dozen years at Wesley International Academy, an Atlanta charter school. He was a technology teacher first, then got a promotion to become the school’s IT manager and the coach of its robotics team, Atlanta Public Schools said this week. Through that work, the academy said, Kariem left “a lasting impact on generations of students and colleagues.”