The “Texas Giant” roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington is now the source of much investigation and witness contention after one woman fell to her death while riding the coaster on Friday night. Recognized to be the tallest steel-hybrid coaster in the world, the Texas Giant has long since been the center of attention among amusement park goers worldwide. However, the most recent attention paid to the coaster and the amusement park as a whole has been less than positive; and considering the circumstances, it’s easy to see why.
It was shortly after 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, July 19th when a catastrophic accident involving one woman and the Texas Giant roller coaster occurred at Six Flags Over Texas. While spokespersons of the amusement park have confirmed that the woman did in fact die during this accident, they have yet to reveal how she was killed. Witnesses at the scene, however, report that the woman’s death resulted when she fell from the car that was carrying her. Since Saturday, investigators have been frantically attempting to determine how the woman could have fallen to her death from the coaster.
According to an eyewitness report from a local resident of Fort Worth, Texas who was waiting in line at the time of the tragic accident, the woman’s coaster car returned at the conclusion of the ride, but she was not in it. Instead, only her fellow riders disembarked – a man and a woman – both of whom were reportedly frantically yelling, “My mom! My mom! Let us out, we need to go get her!” Another report from one woman who was also waiting in line for the ride at the time of the accident reveals that the victim vocally expressed her concern that she was not properly secured in her seat. The response that the victim received at this time, according to reports, was nothing short of nonchalant; something to the effect of, “As long as you heard it click, you’re fine,” was spoken from one of the ride’s operators.
The same Arlington resident who relayed the incident involving the park’s “nonchalant” operator was also reported as saying that “Hers [the coaster victim] was the only one [seat restraint] that went down once, and she didn’t feel safe. But they let her still get on the ride.” According to this report, the woman fell from the ride as it made a sudden maneuver, essentially tumbling over her coaster car and leaving passengers and bystanders both hysterical at what they had just witnessed. Some passengers have since confided that they could hear the woman screaming as she fell to her death. Despite the catastrophic events of the evening, the park remained open to visitors, and only the Texas Giant roller coaster was closed.
Last Friday’s accident at the amusement park is not the first for Six Flags Over Texas. In 1999, another woman met her death while riding one of the park’s attractions. Reports from the incident detail that the victim was a 28-year-old woman from Arkansas who drowned when the raft in which she was riding overturned. The ride, Roaring Rapids, travels along water that is 2-3 feet deep, and when the raft overturned, passengers – including the woman from Arkansas – were thrown from the raft-like boat; the woman was the only passenger to drown, but 10 more were injured in the incident.
In what would seem like a rare event, last Friday’s amusement park accident at the Texas Six Flags in Arlington proved that such incidents are far more at-large than we might otherwise assume. On that same day, another amusement park accident occurred, this time in Ohio. Although far less catastrophic in nature, the accident nevertheless left all seven passengers aboard the Shoot the Rapids thrill ride injured when it unexpectedly rolled down a hill backward and flipped over in the water. While one amusement park accident in a day is more than enough to create a stir, two accidents of this nature is certainly cause for concern.
At The Senators Firm℠, we have spent decades working in the field of personal injury law, paying particular attention to cases that involve amusement park accidents and injuries. With dozens of theme parks and water parks scattered throughout the state of California, we are acutely aware of the potential for accidents very similar to the ones that were experienced in Texas and Ohio last Friday. We therefore extend our professional support to individuals and families who have been injured or otherwise harmed in an accident while visiting an amusement park in the state. A California amusement park injury lawyer from our firm is available to discuss the details of your accident with you. Our firm can be reached 24 hours a day, so do not hesitate to contact us for the legal help you need at this critical time.
Please note that while no further information has yet been revealed about Friday’s tragic amusement park accident in Texas, we will continue to update our blog with the latest breaking news about the incident. To keep up with the newest findings in relation to the accident at Six Flags Over Texas, we encourage you to check our blog periodically throughout the week.