By HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press
Police are investigating after a man fell to his death from a roller coaster at a Six Flags near Atlanta, watched by other visitors to the amusement park as he was catapulted from the ride.
Officials have not confirmed how the man died Monday at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta. No information has been released about the condition of several others who were hurt.
Cobb County Police Department major crimes unit detectives are investigating.
Authorities and Six Flags did not identify the ride associated with the man’s death, but local TV stations showed video of passengers being evacuated from the Goliath roller coaster.
Logan Conner said he was on the Goliath with his fiancée when he saw the man come out of his seat.
“The man started levitating in the air sideways,” he told NBC. “We made direct eye contact with him.”
Britny Landry had been on the ride earlier Monday and was waiting in line to go again. She could see part of the Goliath track.
“We just look, and I just see somebody fly out,” she told KTVU-TV. She said she wasn’t sure if that’s what she saw at first. “Maybe somebody had a bag or something.”
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation temporarily closed nine roller coasters across six amusement parks, “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a company spokesperson, who said staff members and local authorities responded immediately and that the park is cooperating with the investigation.
“We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company is providing support to guests and staff who were impacted.
Police and Six Flags did not immediately respond to messages seeking additional information Tuesday. A message seeking comment also was sent to the state Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner.
Goliath, which was opened in 2006, reaches a top speed of 70 mph (113 kph) with a height of 200 feet (61 meters), according to the park’s website.
During about 3 1/2 minutes, riders “navigate through razor-sharp turns and soar over colossal hills,” the website says.
Lisa Cupid, Cobb County Board of Commissioners chairwoman, said next of kin of the man who died have been notified.
“I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” Cupid said. “We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories.”
The park is a major part of the county’s tourism and brings in visitors from across the Southeast, Cupid said.
The death would be at least the seventh at the Georgia park, including one in 2006 in which a man had a likely heart attack on the Goliath coaster, according to the Doan Law Firm, which tallies amusement park accidents and represents victims.
It also comes less than two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California announced the retirement of its famous X2 roller coaster following lawsuits alleging serious brain injury caused by the ride. The park settled one wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022.
Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt impact injuries after riding a high-speed roller coaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida. His death was ruled accidental.
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Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack contributed to this report.