Woman Dies In Fall From Texas Giant Roller Coaster

A woman died on Friday after falling from the Texas Giant roller coaster at a Six Flags amusement park in Arlington. The incident happened around 6:30 pm local time.

Park spokeswoman Sharon Parker confirmed that a woman died while riding the Texas Giant. However, she did not specify how the person was killed.

Witnesses and local media reported that the woman fell out of the coaster when the safety bar malfunctioned, reports the New York Daily News. Witness Carmen Brown explained:

“She goes up like this. Then when it drops to come down, that’s when it [the safety bar] released and she just tumbled.”

Brown was waiting in line when the accident happened. She added that before the ride, the woman who was killed was worried about her seat’s restraint.

The Texas Giant roller coaster is billed as the tallest steel-hybrid coaster in the world. It was designed in 1990 as an all wooden roller coaster. But it was redesigned in April 2011 with a steel track and opened that month to mark the theme park’s 50th anniversary, notes CNN.

Six Flags released a statement of sorrow about the woman’s death, explaining, “Since the safety of our guests and employees is our number one priority, the ride has been closed pending further investigation.”

Gabe Flores, who was set to ride the coaster next, recalled, “Me and my girlfriend were at the gates and the next ones to get on the ride… the cars came in and there was a man and a woman in the front. The man was saying, ‘Let me out, let me out, my mom fell off.’ ”

The Texas Giant roller coaster was not the only amusement park ride to suffer an issue on Friday. Seven people on an Ohio thrill ride were injured when the boat they were in rolled backward down a hill and flipped over at Cedar Point amusement park.

[Image by David R. Tribble via Wikimedia Commons]