How a day of fun and thrill-seeking turned into a horrifying tragedy at Six Flags

On a warm Columbus Day afternoon, with many area schools closed for Fall Break, the winding midways of Six Flags Over Georgia must have made a wooded stretch about 10 miles west of downtown Atlanta feel both electric and nostalgic.

Carousel music mixed with the thunderous roar of roller coaster carts exploding through dizzying loops and heart-stopping drops. The piercing screams and cheers of thrill seekers clashed with blaring music and barkers calling crowds to their games. The sweet, woody scent of Georgia pines blended with the wafting aroma of sizzling hot dogs and hamburgers.

Under a skyline of soaring steel structures, the Goliath roller coaster stands as one of the Southeast’s most popular attractions. The 210-second ride reaches a top speed of 70 miles an hour and an elevation of 200 feet along 4,480 feet of track, featuring “razor-sharp turns” and “colossal hills,” according to the park . The “hypercoaster,” as Six Flags describes it, celebrated “ 20 years of airtime ” last June and “challenges even the bravest of the brave.”

On Monday, Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old Atlanta resident and “cherished member” of Wesley International Academy, an Atlanta public charter school, died after falling from the coaster , according to police. Several other park-goers were injured.

Kariem was Wesley International Academy’s IT manager, a technology teacher and robotics coach, the school said.

A fun-filled, early autumn holiday turned into successive moments of unforgettable horror. Park-goers watched as Kariem was ejected from the ride, striking other patrons as he plunged onto the roof of a haunted house attraction, one witness told CNN affiliate WXIA.

It was shortly before 4 p.m.

“Someone has fallen off of the Goliath ride,” a 911 dispatcher is heard saying, according to WSB Radio. “Come to the park.”

Part of the horrifying incident, as Kariem struck the cart, was recorded on the coaster camera that captures images for riders, another witness told the station. The images have been taken down.

Kariem struck the cart three times, a couple who were on the ride told CNN affiliate WXIA.

“We were having a great time and to just screaming ‘Oh my God, what is happening?’ ” the woman said. Before the ride, she said, workers checked the safety harnesses.

Another witness described Kariem, at one point, landing on a girl two rows in front of her.

CiCi Nelson was in line to ride the Goliath coaster when a cart pulled up. One seat was empty. Other riders were in hysterics. She recalled one man “freaking out, saying someone fell off.” He urged park staff to call for help.

The safety bar over the empty seat appeared loose, Nelson said. A girl on the cart, covered in blood, appeared to be injured, she added.

“My stomach just dropped and I was terrified,” Nelson told CNN.

What caused him to fall remains unclear. Investigators were examining the circumstances surrounding the incident, according to the Cobb County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit.

Emergency personnel rushed to the loading station as Nelson and others were asked to leave the area.

Moving away, Nelson said, she could see riders in another cart stuck on the steel track high above the park. If not for an issue calling up a ride pass on her phone, she recalled, she would have been on the cart with the now empty seat.

“If it wasn’t for that one extra minute my group had to wait for my flash app to show the ride attendant my QR code, we would’ve been on there,” Nelson said.

One of those trapped on Goliath’s 200-foot incline was Ben Edwards, who was visiting from Canada. Above Atlanta’s suburbs, Edwards and others were stuck for at least an hour.

“Obviously, where the chaos was, that was the priority, and evacuating everybody else,” he told WANF TV.

Below, Edwards could see park staff and paramedics swarming the ride’s entrance.

“We realized that there was something bad that happened,” he said. “Very tragic. The first thing you think about is the people you’re on the ride with.”

Rahim Hakmati, a Six Flags Over Georgia season ticket holder, arrived at the park as large groups of people were leaving. A person had fallen off Goliath, he heard someone say. As he approached the ride, security directed people away.

The night before, Hakmati told CNN, he rode Goliath and “didn’t notice anything unusual or experience any problems.” Now he and others were being asked to leave the park.

On the coaster’s steep incline, the stranded riders were guided down a stairway along tracks by park staff around 5 p.m., aerial video from WXIA showed.

Kariem was found unresponsive and not breathing when police arrived.

His “presence and impact will be deeply missed by our students, staff, and all those whose lives he touched,” the school district said. “Atlanta Public Schools extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Mr. Kariem.”

He was with the district for over 12 years, a spokesperson said.

“Our thoughts are with everyone mourning his loss during this difficult time,” the statement said.

At least 10 roller coasters across six other Six Flags in the US and Canada have been temporarily closed “out of an abundance of caution,” a Six Flags spokesperson said.

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

The manufacturer of the roller coaster, Bolliger & Mabillard, described Monday’s incident as “tragic” and said the company is “actively investigating” it. The company declined further comment until it has “a better understanding of what transpired.”

Monday’s tragedy occurred nearly two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain in California announced it would permanently close its world-famous ride X2, following a CNN investigation that documented reports of serious injuries and deaths associated with the ride.

“I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” Cobb County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said.

“We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories.”

Caleb Sedam and Brandon Casper, Indianapolis residents who were visiting Atlanta, spent Monday at the park with friends. They told WXIA the fatal accident occurred one cart ahead of them. They were stuck on the coaster for about an hour.

“When you go to a park, you have this natural presumption that you’re there for a good time and that you’re going to be safe,” Sedam said Tuesday.

At the entrance to the coaster, a woman cried. She later told them she witnessed the fatal fall.

“It could have been anybody. It could have been us,” Casper said.

CNN’s Isabel Rosales, Meredith Edwards, Julianna Bragg, Avni Trivedi, Elise Hammond, Karina Tsui, Rebekah Riess, Sara Smart, Catherine Nicholls, Mark Morales and Chenelle Woody contributed to this report.

在一个温暖的哥伦布日下午，由于许多地区的学校放秋假，佐治亚州六旗乐园蜿蜒的游乐场一定让亚特兰大市中心以西约 10 英里处的一片树林感到既兴奋又怀旧。

旋转木马的音乐与过山车呼啸而过、飞速翻滚和惊险俯冲的轰鸣声交织在一起。寻求刺激者的尖叫和欢呼声与震耳欲聋的音乐和叫卖声此起彼伏，喧闹不已。乔治亚松树甜美的木香与热狗和汉堡滋滋作响的香气混合在一起。

在巍峨的钢铁建筑群映衬下，歌利亚过山车是美国东南部最受欢迎的游乐设施之一。据公园介绍，这条210秒的过山车最高时速可达70英里/小时，在4480英尺长的轨道上最高可达200​​英尺，拥有“急弯”和“巨大的坡道”。这条被六旗乐园称为“超级过山车”的过山车，去年六月庆祝了其“20年的空中飞行”历史，并“挑战着最勇敢的冒险者”。

周一，据警方消息，42岁的亚特兰大居民哈桑·吉哈德·伊本·卡里姆（Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem）从过山车上坠落身亡。他是亚特兰大公立特许学校卫斯理国际学院（Wesley International Academy）的“受人尊敬的成员”。另有多名游客受伤。

据学校介绍，卡里姆是卫斯理国际学院的IT经理、技术教师和机器人教练。

原本充满欢乐的初秋假期，却变成了接连不断的恐怖噩梦。据一位目击者告诉CNN附属电视台WXIA，卡里姆被甩出游乐设施，坠落到鬼屋屋顶时，撞到了其他游客。

当时是下午4点前不久。

据WSB电台报道，可以听到911调度员说：“有人从巨型过山车上摔下来了。快来公园。”

据另一位目击者向电视台透露，卡里姆撞击车厢的可怕瞬间被过山车上的摄像头拍了下来，该摄像头会为乘客拍摄影像。目前这些影像已被删除。

据 CNN 附属电视台 WXIA 报道，当时正在乘坐游乐设施的一对夫妇称，卡里姆三次撞击了车厢。

“我们当时玩得正开心，突然就尖叫起来‘我的天哪，这是怎么回事？’”这位女士说道。她还说，在乘坐游乐设施之前，工作人员检查了安全带。

另一名目击者称，卡里姆一度落在了前面两排的一个女孩身上。

茜茜·尼尔森当时正在排队等候乘坐“歌利亚”过山车，这时一节车厢驶来。车厢里有一个空位。其他乘客都惊慌失措。她回忆说，有个男人“吓坏了，说有人掉下去了”。他催促公园工作人员打电话求助。

纳尔逊说，空座位上的安全杆似乎松动了。她还说，推车上一个浑身是血的女孩看起来受伤了。

“我当时感觉胃里一阵翻腾，吓坏了，”纳尔逊告诉 CNN。

他摔倒的原因尚不清楚。据科布县警察局重案组称，调查人员正在调查事件发生时的相关情况。

紧急救援人员赶到装卸站，同时要求纳尔逊和其他人离开该区域。

纳尔逊说，她走开后，看到另一辆车厢卡在公园上方高高的钢轨上。她回忆说，如果不是因为手机上调取乘车券出了点问题，她本来也能坐上那辆现在空着的车厢了。

“如果不是因为我的手机应用需要多等一分钟才能向乘务员显示我的二维码，我们早就坐上去了，”纳尔逊说。

被困在“歌利亚”滑道200英尺斜坡上的其中一人是来自加拿大的游客本·爱德华兹。爱德华兹和其他人被困在亚特兰大郊区上方至少一个小时。

“很显然，混乱发生的地方是首要任务，然后是疏散其他所有人，”他告诉 WANF 电视台。

从下方，爱德华兹可以看到公园工作人员和医护人员正聚集在游乐设施的入口处。

“我们意识到出事了，”他说。“非常悲惨。你首先想到的就是和你同车的人。”

持有佐治亚州六旗乐园季票的拉希姆·哈克马蒂抵达乐园时，正值大批游客离开。他听到有人说有人从“歌利亚”过山车上摔了下来。当他走近过山车时，保安人员引导人们离开。

哈克马蒂告诉CNN，前一天晚上他乘坐了“歌利亚”过山车，“没有注意到任何异常情况，也没有遇到任何问题”。现在他和一些游客却被要求离开公园。

WXIA电视台的航拍视频显示，下午5点左右，被困在过山车陡坡上的乘客在公园工作人员的引导下，沿着轨道走下楼梯。

警方到达现场时，发现卡里姆已失去意识，停止了呼吸。

学区表示：“我们的学生、教职员工以及所有曾受他影响的人都将深深怀念他的存在和影响。亚特兰大公立学校向卡里姆先生的家人、朋友和亲人致以最深切的慰问。”

发言人称，他曾在该地区工作超过12年。

声明中说：“在这个艰难的时刻，我们与所有哀悼他离世的人们同在。”

六旗集团发言人表示，出于“高度谨慎”，美国和加拿大其他六个六旗乐园的至少 10 个过山车已暂时关闭。

“我们对今天发生在我们公园的游客事故深感悲痛，”佐治亚州六旗乐园在一份声明中表示。“我们向这位游客的家人、朋友和亲人致以最深切的慰问。”

过山车制造商博利格-马比拉德公司（Bolliger & Mabillard）称周一发生的事故“令人痛心”，并表示公司正在“积极调查”此事。该公司拒绝就此事发表进一步评论，直到“更好地了解事件经过”。

周一发生的这起悲剧距离加州六旗魔术山宣布永久关闭其举世闻名的游乐设施 X2 已过去了近两周。此前，CNN 的一项调查记录了与该游乐设施相关的严重伤亡事件。

“我无法想象今天顾客和员工们目睹的恐怖景象，我为失去亲人的家庭感到心痛，”科布县委员会主席丽莎·丘比特说道。

“我们都难以接受这样一个事实：如此惨痛的事件竟然会发生在一个给几代家庭带来如此美好回忆的地方。”

来自印第安纳波利斯的卡莱布·塞达姆和布兰登·卡斯珀当时正在亚特兰大游玩，周一和朋友们一起去了游乐园。他们告诉WXIA电视台，这起致命事故发生在他们前面一节车厢。他们被困在过山车上大约一个小时。

“当你去公园时，你会自然而然地认为自己在那里可以玩得开心，而且会很安全，”塞达姆周二表示。

在过山车入口处，一名女子在哭泣。她后来告诉他们，她目睹了那次致命的坠落事故。

“可能是任何人，也可能是我们，”卡斯珀说。

CNN 的 Isabel Rosales、Meredith Edwards、Julianna Bragg、Avni Trivedi、Elise Hammond、Karina Tsui、Rebekah Riess、Sara Smart、Catherine Nicholls、Mark Morales 和 Chenelle Woody 对本报道亦有贡献。