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Boy decapitated by roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia

5K views 109 replies 20 participants last post by  gverb1219 
#1 ·
RHONDA COOK, MARCUS GARNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/28/08By

A 17-year-old South Carolina boy on an church outing was killed Saturday when he was struck by the popular "Batman the Ride" at Six Flags Over Georgia. It was the second Batman ride-related death at the Cobb County park.

According to the police and a statement from the amusement park, the boy and a friend climbed over two 6-foot fences -- the park perimeter fence and a second one surrounding the ride -- to get to the roller coaster. Park officials said there were numerous signs warning would-be intruders of the danger.

The victim was decapitated when the ride struck him, police said. The youth was not identified.

"The areas where the individuals entered were clearly marked with signs marked 'restricted area. Authorized personnel only,' and a sign on a locked gate that read 'Danger zone. Do not enter. Authorized personnel only," park spokeswoman Hela Sheth said to reporters, reading from a prepared statement.

"It is still unclear why the two men were trying to gain access to this unauthorized area," Sheth said. She declined to answer questions at an evening news conference and did not return several telephone messages seeking additional information.

The boy was with a group from Oakley Spring Baptist Church in Salley, S.C. He had been in Six Flags earlier in the day, but he and another boy left the park property to get some lunch, according to Cobb County police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce.

Rather than returning to the park through the regular entrance, the two boys took a shortcut, Pierce said.

"The area's clearly defined with signs," Pierce said. "It's very tragic that these individuals would decide to jump over the fence. It would be hard to imagine somebody not seeing the signs and jumping two fences."

No one on the ride was injured, Six Flags said in the statement. The boy's family was at the park at the time of the accident, according to the amusement park.

Pierce said there were many witnesses, and the county's 911 center was almost immediately flooded with calls from people reporting what they had seen.

The park's statement said one of the first to call for help was an Marietta police officer who had been in line for the Batman ride.

"Six Flags security and safety personnel responded immediately, and Cobb County Fire [Department] was on site just minutes after the incident occurred," Sheth said. "The medical examiner arrived on scene and confirmed that the 17-year-old male was killed instantaneously."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," she said.

The Batman ride was run briefly after the accident so police investigators could take measurements. It was closed to the public Saturday evening. The rest of Six Flags remained open. The park said the ride likely would resume operating on Monday.

Batman riders dangle beneath a track and travel up to 50 m.p.h., climbing and dropping the distance equal to an 11-story building and going through two vertical loops and two single corkscrews.

The first fatality involving the Batman ride in Georgia occurred six years ago.

A 58-year-old park worker, Samuel Milton Guyton of Atlanta, was killed May 26, 2002. Guyton was in a restricted area on a platform when he was kicked in the head by 14-year-old girl on the front car of the ride. The girl was hospitalized with a leg injury.

Over the years, several ride-related deaths have been reported at Six Flags parks nationwide.

Last March, a worker dismantling a ride at Six Flags Great America near Chicago fell 40-feet to his death. In 2004 at the same park, a maintenance worker was hit by a roller coaster and killed.

A 55-year-old disabled man was killed in May 2004 when he was thrown from a ride at Six Flags New England near Springfield, Mass. Five years ago, a grandmother strapping her 4-year-old grandson into Six Flags New Orleans' Joker's Jukebox ride was hit by a spinning car when the ride began operating before she was out of the way.
 
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#5 ·
When I lost my car keys at Great Adventure a few years ago, the local locksmith came and we got to talking about how many times he shows up there and he said that ride has made him a Millionaire!

Great Adventure...Good for the local economy...
Bad for guest ADVENTURING off...
 
#12 ·
what I didn't understand when I read the story in Newsday this morning

it closed saying an autopsy was pending.

Isn't the fact that his head was seperated from his body pretty much an indication as to the cause of death?

:confused:

Still - very tragic. Unnecessary & a stupid thing to do - but tragic nonetheless.
 
#19 ·
wader wrote:
it closed saying an autopsy was pending.

Isn't the fact that his head was seperated from his body pretty much an indication as to the cause of death?

:confused:

Still - very tragic. Unnecessary & a stupid thing to do - but tragic nonetheless.

Autopsy includes toxicological tests to determine if the kid was drinking or doing drugs.

Helps in defending a law suit if they can prove "The kid was stoned out of his head".
 
#20 ·
Mad Mahi wrote:
Helps in defending a law suit if they can prove "The kid was stoned out of his head".

Maybe not. Just read about a recent DWI case on Long Island that resulted in the death of an inoccent person. Nassua DA trying to get the guy on "Depraved indifference to Human Life". Defense attorney is claiming that the accused was so drunk, that he could not be held accountable for his actions. Not making this up. Was in Snoozeday last Thursday or Friday.

This kids lawyers will say he was so stoned that the 2 fences and all the signs were not enough to stop him and that the park should have anticipated a stoned teenager trying to get through.
 
#24 ·
beachbomber wrote:
Some of the comments are just plain sic.
wouldn't be so funny if it were your kid that was killed by an act of stupidity or otherwise.

It's human nature to make fun of someone who blatently disregards rules and warnings and ends up dead.:rolleyes:
Sorta like the Darwin Awards that are presented each year.:rolleyes:
Tragic, yes, ..............stupid, definately............childish to make fun of it, sure.........:rolleyes::rolleyes:..but people do often find humor in trajedy...........ya know, like laughing when someone slips and busts their azz.......you know you've laughed at it to.........


Sorry for not having much compassion for his death............I lost my head for a minute there..........:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

................Oh wait, no I didn't that was him:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
#25 ·
gverb1219 wrote:
beachbomber wrote:
Some of the comments are just plain sic.
wouldn't be so funny if it were your kid that was killed by an act of stupidity or otherwise.

Sorry for not having much compassion for his death............I lost my head for a minute there..........:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

................Oh wait, no I didn't that was him:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

can I just be the first to congrat you Gary? Not one "
" in that punchline. And I know that was NOT easy


seriously...point taken beachbomber. But people die in this country every day. Not one more deserving than the other. It's a shame when they are young. Unfortunately...that's the age when they (we) least realize it. A lot braver people sacrificed their lives taking chances.

youtube link removed.
 
#26 ·
dawnpatrol136 wrote:

can I just be the first to congrat you Gary? Not one "
" in that punchline. And I know that was NOT easy


..............I do have a little compassion:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:


...........I wonder if the kid with him yelled to the crowd................."heads up.....to warn them.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
;)
 
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