Six Flags is adding seat belts to several of its roller coasters after a Georgia man was ejected and killed on a ride that used only lap restraints, the company announced Friday.
The change comes less than two weeks after 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem died after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Oct. 12. Witnesses said they saw Kariem rise out of his seat and fall headfirst back into the cart before being thrown from the ride. Some riders who had been on Goliath earlier that day said they had already raised concerns about the restraints.
Eight other Six Flags coasters with similar restraint systems remain closed across the United States and Canada while investigators try to determine what caused the accident. All nine rides taken out of service, including Goliath, were made by the Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard. Their restraint system uses a padded lap bar that locks over a rider’s upper legs and is held in place by a bar between the knees. A 2001 U.S. patent for the design described it as giving riders a “flying carpet” sensation while “guaranteeing optimum security.”
Six Flags Entertainment President and CEO John Reilly said the company is responding with new precautions.
“We are reinforcing safety precautions at our parks and taking additional measures, including adding seat belts on Goliath and other coasters with a similar restraint,” Reilly said in a statement.
The company has not specified which coasters besides Goliath will get seat belts or said when the closed rides will reopen. Six Flags said it has brought in independent engineers and inspectors to review safety procedures across its parks.
The eight additional closed coasters are located at Six Flags parks in Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Ontario, Canada. Goliath itself remains shut down as state and local officials in Georgia continue investigating Kariem’s death.
The fallout has reached beyond Six Flags properties. SeaWorld Orlando temporarily closed its Mako roller coaster, which uses a comparable restraint system, before reopening it Tuesday after a weeklong shutdown. A roller coaster at La Ronde in Montreal was also closed for a time as a precaution.
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