What we know about the fatal roller coaster incident at Six Flags Over Georgia

As investigators work to determine how a man fell to his death during a roller coaster ride Monday at Six Flags Over Georgia, authorities have identified the victim as a beloved educator, prompting an outpouring of grief across the Atlanta community and school system.

Cobb County Police on Tuesday identified the victim as Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old man who worked at an Atlanta public charter school as its IT manager, technology teacher and robotics coach.

While few details have been released, witnesses say he fell from a hypercoaster called the Goliath, a 210-second ride that reaches 70 mph and a height of 200 feet, according to the Six Flags website.

In the wake of his death, at least 10 similar rides across six parks in the US and Canada have temporarily closed as investigators work to establish what happened.

Here’s what we know:

Around 4 p.m. Monday, a man was found beneath a roller coaster, “unresponsive and not breathing,” police said in a statement.

“Preliminary information gathered through witness and employee interviews indicates Kariem was ejected from the ride and struck other patrons before falling beneath the attraction,” said the Cobb County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit.

Police did not disclose the name of the roller coaster, but witnesses described seeing the man fall from the Goliath, and aerial footage reviewed by CNN showed Goliath riders stopped at a steep incline before being evacuated down a high stairway.

“He fell and hit the car three different times” before falling onto the roof of a haunted house attraction below, a witness told CNN affiliate WXIA.

One witness told WXIA the falling man was captured on his souvenir picture taken while on the Goliath ride.

Another witness, CiCi Nelson , told CNN she was in line to ride the Goliath when a cart pulled up with an empty seat and other riders in hysterics.

She said the safety bar on the empty seat appeared loose, and another young passenger appeared to be covered in blood and injured. Emergency personnel quickly arrived, and she and others were asked to evacuate the area.

One man was “freaking out, saying someone fell off” and was urging staff to call for help, Nelson added.

Police said several people were injured but did not specify how many or their conditions. CNN has reached out to authorities for more information.

“We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today,” Six Flags Over Georgia said in a statement Monday evening. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest’s family, friends, and loved ones.”

Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit are investigating Kariem’s death, police said, and have requested anyone with information to contact the department.

The Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, which oversees safety inspections of amusement and carnival rides, has also launched an investigation.

“Our investigative team is conducting an in-depth and comprehensive review to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and to ensure full compliance with all applicable policies and procedures,” the agency said in a statement Tuesday.

Wesley International Academy

Kariem was a “cherished member” of Wesley International Academy, a public charter school in Atlanta, where he worked as an IT manager, technology teacher and robotics coach, Atlanta Public Schools said in a statement.

Kariem’s “presence and impact will be deeply missed by our students, staff, and all those whose lives he touched,” the school district said.

In a separate statement shared with CNN affiliate WANF , Wesley International Academy (WIA) Executive Director Jason Marshall said the school community is “devastated by the loss of Hassan Kariem, affectionately known as Mr. Kariem, who was a beloved colleague, friend, and integral part of the Wesley family for more than 12 years.”

“Mr. Kariem was deeply loved and respected, and his absence will be felt throughout our school community,” the statement read.

Two of Kariem’s former students described him as joyful, patient and an inspiration.

“He never got mad at us … He was always patient with us. He would joke with us,” former WIA student Soledad Gomez, who had Kariem as her computer lab teacher, told WANF.

Gomez told WANF Kariem inspired her to pursue a degree in elementary education, while her brother Juan Pablo Gomez told the outlet Kariem’s class sparked his interest in information technology, a subject he’s majoring in.

CNN has reached out to WIA for comment.

At least nine rides across several Six Flags parks in the US and Canada have been temporarily closed, a park spokesperson said. A ride was also closed at a former Six Flags park in Quebec. Several of those rides are categorized as hypercoasters – like the Goliath –– rides made of steel with a height of more than 200 feet.

The Goliath in Georgia is manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, a Swiss company with a “stellar” safety record, according to Brian Avery, a professor at the University of Florida who specializes in ride safety and risk management.

Avery said the Goliath features a waist restraint but has no over-the-shoulder harness like some other roller coasters –– a secondary restraint he believes should be considered.

“If you have your primary fail, what are you left with? Yeah, nothing,” he said. “And it’s an impossible feat to stay contained if it did fail, because of the forces, the speed.”

Bolliger & Mabillard issued a statement calling Monday’s deadly accident “tragic” and offering condolences to those affected.

The company said it is investigating but would have no further comment, “until we have a better understanding of what transpired.”

Every ride at its parks “undergoes extensive inspection and maintenance procedures,” according to Six Flags’ website.

Daily inspections are undertaken by park teams, while third parties, including state ride inspectors, insurance inspectors and engineering experts, also regularly evaluate the rides, it says.

Six Flags Over Georgia will open again on Friday, as scheduled, a spokesperson for the park told CNN. The Goliath will remain temporarily closed.

CNN’s Julianna Bragg, Rebekah Riess, Elise Hammond, Holly Yan, Sara Smart, and Avni Trivedi contributed to this report.

周一，一名男子在佐治亚州六旗游乐园乘坐过山车时坠亡，调查人员正在努力查明事故原因。当局已确认死者是一位深受爱戴的教育工作者，这在亚特兰大社区和学校系统中引发了巨大的悲痛。

科布县警方周二确认受害者为哈桑·吉哈德·伊本·卡里姆，42岁，在亚特兰大一所公立特许学校担任IT经理、技术教师和机器人教练。

虽然公布的细节很少，但据六旗乐园网站介绍，目击者称他从名为“歌利亚”的超级过山车上摔了下来。这趟旅程持续 210 秒，最高时速可达 70 英里/小时，高度达 200 英尺。

在他去世后，美国和加拿大的六个公园中至少有 10 个类似的游乐设施暂时关闭，调查人员正在努力查明事故原因。

我们目前掌握的情况如下：

周一下午 4 点左右，警方在一份声明中表示，一名男子被发现倒在过山车下面，“没有反应，也没有呼吸”。

科布县警察局重案组表示：“通过对目击者和员工的采访收集到的初步信息表明，卡里姆被甩出游乐设施，撞到其他游客后坠落到游乐设施下方。”

警方没有透露过山车的名称，但目击者称看到该男子从“歌利亚”过山车上摔了下来，CNN 查看的航拍画面显示，“歌利亚”过山车的乘客在被疏散到高高的楼梯下之前，在一个陡峭的斜坡上停了下来。

据 CNN 附属电视台 WXIA 报道，一名目击者称，他“摔倒并三次撞到汽车”，然后掉到下面鬼屋景点的屋顶上。

一名目击者告诉 WXIA 电视台，这名坠落男子的画面被拍进了他在乘坐“歌利亚”过山车时拍摄的纪念照片中。

另一位目击者西西·尼尔森告诉 CNN，她当时正在排队乘坐“歌利亚”过山车，这时一辆车停了下来，车上有一个空座位，其他乘客都歇斯底里地大笑起来。

她说，空座位上的安全杆似乎松动了，另一名年轻乘客浑身是血，看起来受了伤。急救人员很快赶到，她和其他人被要求撤离该区域。

纳尔逊补充说，一名男子“惊慌失措，说有人摔下去了”，并敦促工作人员打电话求助。

警方称有多人受伤，但未透露具体人数或伤情。CNN已联系有关部门以获取更多信息。

“我们对今天发生在我们公园的游客事故深感悲痛，”佐治亚州六旗乐园周一晚间发表声明称。“我们向遇难游客的家人、朋友和亲人致以最深切的慰问。”

警方表示，重案组的侦探正在调查卡里姆的死因，并请求任何知情人士与警方联系。

负责监督游乐设施和嘉年华游乐项目安全检查的佐治亚州保险和安全消防专员办公室也已展开调查。

该机构周二在一份声明中表示：“我们的调查小组正在进行深入全面的审查，以确定事件发生的情况，并确保完全遵守所有适用的政策和程序。”

卫斯理国际学院

亚特兰大公立学校在一份声明中表示，卡里姆是亚特兰大公立特许学校卫斯理国际学院的“珍贵成员”，他曾担任该校的IT经理、技术教师和机器人教练。

学区表示：“卡里姆的存在和影响将令我们的学生、教职员工以及所有被他影响过的人深感怀念。”

在另一份与 CNN 附属电视台 WANF 分享的声明中，韦斯利国际学院 (WIA) 执行董事杰森·马歇尔表示，学校社区“对哈桑·卡里姆的离世感到悲痛欲绝，他被亲切地称为卡里姆先生，是一位深受爱戴的同事、朋友，也是韦斯利大家庭不可或缺的一员，在那里工作了 12 年多。”

声明中写道：“卡里姆先生深受爱戴和尊敬，他的离世将令我们整个学校社区深感悲痛。”

卡里姆的两名前学生形容他快乐、耐心，并且鼓舞人心。

“他从来没有对我们发过脾气……他总是对我们很有耐心。他会和我们开玩笑，”曾是 WIA 学生、Kariem 是她计算机实验室老师的 Soledad Gomez 告诉 WANF。

戈麦斯告诉 WANF，卡里姆激励她攻读小学教育学位，而她的哥哥胡安·巴勃罗·戈麦斯告诉该媒体，卡里姆的课激发了他对信息技术的兴趣，这也是他正在主修的学科。

CNN已联系WIA寻求置评。

一位公园发言人表示，美国和加拿大多家六旗主题公园至少有九项游乐设施暂时关闭。魁北克省一家已关闭的六旗主题公园也有一项游乐设施关闭。这些关闭的游乐设施中，有几项属于超高速过山车，例如“歌利亚”（Goliath），这些过山车由钢材建造，高度超过200英尺（约61米）。

据佛罗里达大学专门研究游乐设施安全和风险管理的教授布莱恩·艾弗里称，佐治亚州的“歌利亚”过山车是由瑞士公司 Bolliger & Mabillard 制造的，该公司拥有“卓越的”安全记录。

艾弗里表示，“歌利亚”过山车配备了腰部安全带，但没有像其他一些过山车那样配备肩部安全带——他认为应该考虑配备这种辅助安全带。

“如果主控系统失效，你还能剩下什么？没错，什么也剩不下了，”他说。“而且，如果真的失效了，由于各种作用力和速度，想要控制住局面几乎是不可能的。”

Bolliger & Mabillard 发表声明，称周一发生的致命事故“令人悲痛”，并向受影响的人表示慰问。

该公司表示正在调查此事，但在“更好地了解事情经过之前”，不会发表进一步评论。

据六旗官网介​​绍，其公园内的每一项游乐设施都“经过广泛的检查和维护程序”。

声明称，公园团队会进行日常检查，同时，包括州游乐设施检查员、保险检查员和工程专家在内的第三方也会定期对游乐设施进行评估。

六旗佐治亚州主题公园发言人告诉CNN，该公园将按计划于周五重新开放。“歌利亚”过山车将继续暂时关闭。

CNN 的 Julianna Bragg、Rebekah Riess、Elise Hammond、Holly Yan、Sara Smart 和 Avni Trivedi 对本报道亦有贡献。