One dead and four injured after incident on Georgia’s Goliath coaster

• Cobb County police said one person died and several people were injured at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday afternoon.
• Local station WSB-TV reported four other people were injured; police have publicly described the number only as “several”.
• Goliath stopped on its track and riders were evacuated. Local reporting identified it as the coaster involved.
• Cobb County detectives and Georgia safety investigators are examining the incident.

The incident happened shortly before 4pm on Monday, 12 October, at Six Flags Over Georgia, in Cobb County, north-west of Atlanta. Cobb County police said one person died and several people were reported injured. Detectives from the department’s Major Crimes Unit are investigating. Police have not publicly explained how the person died or what caused the injuries.¹²

Local footage and witness accounts identify the ride as Goliath, though police did not name the coaster in the statement reported by CBS News Atlanta. WSB-TV’s aerial coverage showed cars stopped on the track and riders being brought down, four at a time. The station reported that four other people were injured; police statements carried by other outlets gave no exact count beyond “several”. Their conditions have not been reported.²³

What witnesses saw

Brittany Landry, a park guest interviewed by FOX 5 Atlanta, said she was waiting to board another ride when she saw what looked like a person leave a passing Goliath train and fly into nearby woods. She estimated the train was about 150 feet away and said she could not tell whether the person was a child or an adult. Another guest interviewed by FOX 5 said she did not see anyone fall; she heard other visitors react and later heard that someone had fallen.⁴

The accounts give a picture of what guests may have seen, not a finding about how or why it happened. Police have not publicly confirmed the sequence described by the witness, and the reporting available so far does not establish a problem with a restraint, a ride component or an operating procedure.

After the incident, riders stranded on Goliath were evacuated from the track. CBS News Atlanta reported seeing guests brought down from the coaster’s largest hill by an emergency stairway; WSB-TV also reported that cars had stopped near the top of the ride.²³ Goliath is roughly 200 feet tall and reaches speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, according to local reporting. Those dimensions help explain the need for a high-track evacuation, but do not explain what happened before the ride stopped.⁴²

Investigators and safety rules

Georgia safety inspectors and investigators were at the park examining equipment and working with local and county officials, the state insurance and safety fire commissioner told FOX 5. Cobb County police are handling the criminal investigation through their Major Crimes Unit. The investigations address different questions: detectives are examining the circumstances surrounding the death, while the state’s role includes assessing ride safety.⁴¹

Georgia’s amusement-ride rules require stationary rides to be inspected at least once a year. The rules also say that when an accident involves a death or serious injury, the ride must be taken out of service, secured against operation pending a full state investigation, and reported to the state by phone and in writing. The rules allow the regulator discretion in some circumstances, and available reporting does not establish which specific provisions officials have applied here.⁵

Six Flags said the park and local authorities responded immediately, that it was cooperating with the investigation, and that it was supporting affected guests and employees. The company did not provide further details, citing the family’s privacy.³² By Monday evening, authorities had not released the deceased person’s identity, announced investigative findings or said when Goliath might reopen.

Footnotes

1. Associated Press, “One person is dead, several others injured in incident involving Six Flags roller coaster in Georgia” ↩ ↩²

2. CBS News Atlanta, “Incident on Six Flags Over Georgia roller coaster leaves 1 dead, several injured, police say” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. WSB-TV, “1 dead, 4 injured in Goliath ride incident at Six Flags Over Georgia” ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. FOX 5 Atlanta, “Six Flags Over Georgia: Witnesses describe horror as rider falls from Goliath coaster” ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Georgia Secretary of State, Rules and Regulations for Amusement Ride Safety, Chapter 120-3-27 ↩