Man Dies After Falling From Six Flags Roller Coaster, Prompting Park Closures

A man died Monday after reportedly falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, a tragedy that has led the amusement park company to temporarily close similar attractions at multiple parks.

Eyewitnesses described harrowing moments as the man fell from the ride around 4 p.m. on Monday. One witness told local outlet WXIA that the man appeared in a souvenir photo taken during the ride. "He was in our pictures," the witness said. "He fell and hit the car three different times."

Another couple on the ride recounted the terrifying experience. "The vehicle [meaning the ride] hit him, and then he flew back up again, and it hit him again, and then that's, I guess, flung from the ride," the man told the outlet. His wife added, "It went from having a great time to just screaming, 'Oh my God, what is happening.' You don't see things like this happen. It should never happen."

One rider whose train was ascending at the time of the incident heard screaming and saw people running below. That ride then stopped, leaving passengers stranded for approximately an hour without updates. "We were up there for an hour with no updates, no news, no nothing. We just saw everyone running out of the park," the witness told WXIA.

The Cobb County Police Department confirmed that one person died and that others were reportedly injured. Six Flags issued a statement expressing their sorrow.

"We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today," a Six Flags spokesperson said. "Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest's family, friends, and loved ones. We are also providing support to the guests and team members affected."

As a precaution, Six Flags temporarily closed similar attractions at other parks. "Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily closed similar attractions across our parks," a Six Flags spokesperson said, according to WSB-TV. "The safety of our guests and team members remains one of our highest priorities."

It remains unclear which specific rides were temporarily closed as of Tuesday morning. Six Flags parks in California and Illinois also feature roller coasters named Goliath, though they are different designs from the Georgia attraction.

Coaster Scrutiny

The incident at Six Flags Over Georgia occurs as the company faces scrutiny over another roller coaster, the X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, which was permanently closed after multiple lawsuits alleged it caused catastrophic brain injuries. The X2 ride had not been in operation since July 12.

Dordick Law Corporation, representing plaintiffs in lawsuits related to the X2 coaster, stated on September 23 that they had retained over 100 additional clients alleging brain injuries from riding X2. Three lawsuits have been filed to date.

Brian Oerding, park president of Magic Mountain, stated that while the X2 consistently passed safety tests, the park decided to close it due to affected guest confidence. "Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously," Oerding said.