Man falls from Goliath roller coaster and dies at Six Flags Georgia

A visitor died on Tuesday at the Six Flags amusement park in the US state of Georgia after falling from a car on the Goliath roller coaster. Hasan Jihad Ibn Karim, an IT teacher, had come to the park with his son. The boy was sitting next to his father when the tragedy happened.

According to preliminary findings, at the critical moment the man was thrown forward from the back row of seats and struck the backs of the first-row seats. Why this happened is still unclear. Some media outlets suggest he may have been taking a selfie. His body then fell onto the roof of the ride's control center. The man died at the scene, and several visitors suffered injuries, the nature of which has not been specified. Staff immediately stopped the track and evacuated all guests.

The park expressed regret: “We are deeply saddened by what happened. Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with the family, friends and loved ones of the deceased.” According to a law firm that tracks accidents at amusement parks, this is at least the seventh such case in Georgia.

Goliath opened twenty years ago; the track reaches a height of 61 meters, and the cars accelerate to 112 kilometers per hour. On a five-point “thrill” scale, the ride is rated four.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz