ATLANTA (AP) — A growing number of amusement parks have shut down roller coasters as police and state regulators investigate what caused a man to fall out of his seat and plummet to his death at a Georgia park.
asserted
man → grow → park
Sea World Orlando in Florida and La Ronde theme park in Montreal, Canada, confirmed on Thursday they had temporarily closed rides, bringing the total number of roller coasters halted to 11.
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they → confirm → 11
Police and a state regulatory agency are investigating what caused Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old school employee from Atlanta, to fall from the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday.
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Kariem → investigate → Monday
Witnesses described seeing him ejected from the coaster; some people who rode the Goliath before him raised concerns about its restraints.
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who → describe → restraints
Nine of the roller coasters taken out of service have the same manufacturer and a similar restraint system as the Goliath at Six Flags.
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Nine → take → Flags
Mom says her son’s restraint didn’t work properly
Erica Billups said her son and daughter rode Goliath about an hour before Kariem’s death and encountered a problem with the restraint on one seat.
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son → say → seat
Her son initially sat in that seat and tried to lock it, but then moved when it repeatedly became unlocked.
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it → sit → it
The roller coaster embarked with the seat empty and the harness up, she said in a post on X.
She confirmed the post in a text message to The Associated Press on Thursday.
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She → embark → Thursday
She said staff did not tell her kids there was a problem.
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staff → say → kids
Summer Bates, who was at the Georgia park with her husband and three children and saw Kariem fall, told the AP previously that her older two children kept trying to push their restraints down tighter while on the ride.
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children → see → ride
She understood why they were doing that later when she was on the coaster, she said, because the restraints didn’t feel secure.
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restraints → understand → coaster
Six Flags did not immediately respond to an email for comment on any issues with restraints.
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Flags → respond → restraints
At least one of the other closures is for safety
La Ronde in Montreal said one of its coasters — also named Goliath — is offline “while we conduct a thorough safety review in collaboration with the ride’s manufacturer.”
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we → say → manufacturer
Neither La Ronde nor Sea World Orlando said why those specific rides were closed.
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rides → say → ?
Both were manufactured by the Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard, which also built the Goliath ride in Georgia and eight of the other coasters that Six Flags closed.
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Flags → manufacture → that
Bolliger & Mabillard declined Thursday to answer questions about the shutdowns.
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Bolliger → decline → shutdowns
In an updated list of ride closures provided Thursday, Six Flags no longer included the Goliath coaster at its Six Flags Magic Mountain park in California.
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Flags → update → California
The coaster has a different manufacturer and restraint system than the others.
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coaster → have → others
Six Flags had listed it as closed earlier in the week.
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Flags → list → week
Online photos and videos of most of the closed coasters show each equipped with so-called “clamshell” restraints, mounted in front of each seat on a vertical bar that sits between the rider’s knees.
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that → close → knees
The bar locks the padded restraint into place over the rider’s lap and upper legs.
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bar → lock → lap
’s unclear from the images whether any of those coasters also have seat belts or other secondary restraints.
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have → ’ → belts
Goliath in Georgia has no such backup restraints.
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Goliath → have → restraints
Dennis Speigel, a theme park consultant and past president of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a trade group, said the similar restraint systems are almost certainly why most of the coasters were closed.
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most → say → coasters
Speigel said they’re likely to remain shut down until investigators have determined what went wrong on the Georgia coaster, but he said that “obviously it was something with the restraint.”
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it → say → restraint
Roller coaster manufacturers decide what type of restraints to use after considering speed, force and the track’s transitions, said Brian D. Avery, a University of Florida professor and amusement ride safety expert.
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Avery → decide → Florida
He advocates the use of a backup restraint for riders, but there is a long-running debate in the industry over whether that would increase wait times, Avery said.
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Avery → advocate → times
Bolliger & Mabillard says it is investigating
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it → say → ?
The company said in an email it would have no further comment until it had a “better understanding of what transpired” on Monday.
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what → say → Monday
Kariem was thrown from his seat and struck other patrons before landing below the ride.
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Kariem → throw → ride
Goliath, one of Six Flags Over Georgia’s headline attractions, towers above the park’s entrance.
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Goliath → tower → entrance
It opened in 2006 and features a series of hills and turns.
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It → open → hills
It doesn’t take riders upside down, but its first hill rises to 200 feet (61 meters) and it has a top speed of 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers).
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it → take → hour
Nick Mendenhall, who had just ridden Goliath with his son and was watching the coaster cars passing overhead, said it looked like Kariem was hovering because the car was moving underneath him.
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car → ride → him
He fell headfirst back into the coaster, Mendenhall said, and then was ejected from the ride on its final turn.
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Mendenhall → fall → turn
Six Flags has faced legal trouble before
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Flags → face → trouble
A class-action lawsuit filed by investors in 2025 alleges that Six Flags concealed the poor state of its amusement parks — including long-neglected maintenance — ahead of its merger with major amusement park operator Cedar Fair.
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Flags → file → Fair
“Prior to the Merger, Legacy Six Flags had for years deferred or foregone basic park maintenance, operational improvements, infrastructure repairs, and ride design and development updates,” the complaint said.
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complaint → defer → maintenance
The company also cut staffing to reduce costs, it alleges.
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it → cut → costs
Timothy Loranger, a California attorney who sued Six Flags in a fatal case, said it’s a positive step that the theme park chain closed down rides at other parks as a precaution.
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chain → sue → precaution
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
