Woman dies while riding roller coaster

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Izayoi said:
Mmm, love me those shaky wooden coasters. The more you feel like the shit has been kicked out of you afterward, the better. It's too bad that they're all going the way of the dinosaur. ;_;
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It's funny how the newer metal coasters can feature all sorts of drops and loops and yet, the scarier coasters will always be the oldschool wooden ones, just because they feel legitimately shakier and, shall I say, more dangerous.
 
PotatoeMasher said:
I wonder if the restraints are designed to work with such a large person.
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they aren't. the restraint works because it makes it impossible for you to straighten your legs. if you're a large sized person the restraint cant close as far as needed and since fat squishes you could squeeze out of the restraint.


RiccochetJ said:
Well if anything the ride is going to be like the West Edmonton Mall coaster where now you have the seat belt, the bar, and the shoulder thing. You seriously can't move once you're strapped into that thing.

Edit: For those that don't know, there was a very serious accident back in 1986 at west ed and it made world news and initially the coaster only had the lap bar.
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I still remember seeing the coaster covered up in person after the crash, creepy memories but that accident had nothing to do with the restraints it was crap construction. the last cars guide wheels broke so it slid off the track and slammed into the pillar when going through a loop.

Wikipedia lists the changes made to the train design after the accident. they pretty much went overkill on it.
 
For the Silver Star at Europa-Park, there's a guy that waits at the very start of the line next to a mock chair, and if anyone looks too fat he'll check to see if they fit or not. I'm surprised that this wasn't as enforced in Texas, what with there being a shitton more fat/obese people.
 
jamesinclair said:
I was at six flags nj a few weeks ago and saw a fat guy get kicked off the ride before we could begin
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I've witnessed this a lot of times in multiple parks. I don;t know where I got this from but I always have thought that it isn't safe until you get three clicks (I'm probably wrong).

This makes me feel a little better about my own personal coaster riding, because I fucking love riding them.
 
Lazy Man's Wallpaper said:
Son of Beast beat the shit out of me back in the day, not surprised one bit that they closed it. Only time I've ever felt like the ride itself is unsafe.
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I haven't ridden Son of Beast since 2003 and my knees still haven't recovered.

Back in the 80's we were able to just about stand up in The Racer. I remember joking that it was the second standing coaster at KI. Good times...
 
PotatoeMasher said:
That has to suck for a teenager to have to tell people they're too fat to ride, but I think after this everyone will be a lot stricter about it, which is a good thing.
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In my time at Disney I had to reject a few large people from my ride (seat belt wouldn't close around them). For the most part they were too embarrassed/ashamed to complain much since it happens in front of the entire queue of people waiting and also meant the ride had to be stopped a bit to get them off. There were a few who got pretty upset but rules are rules and they were free to complain to City Hall if they thought I had treated them unfairly.

Once I heard the story about the guests lap bar only clicking once instead of twice or more (plus the location) I guessed the size of the guest might have played a factor in this. Sounds completely like it's the attendants fault for not rejecting the guest.
 
Wubby said:
Sounds completely like it's the attendants fault for not rejecting the guest.
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What training was the attendant given?
How many "clicks" were they told to expect?
Is a "click" less safe than 2 or 3 or 4 "clicks"?
Is the ratchet system the only thing stopping the restraint from moving, or is there a secondary locking pin?
Did the restraint open, or did the woman fall out with the restraint closed?

It's far to early to just say it's the attendants fault.
 
Lazy Man's Wallpaper said:
Son of Beast beat the shit out of me back in the day, not surprised one bit that they closed it. Only time I've ever felt like the ride itself is unsafe.
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Yeah, no kidding. Son of Beast was a failure from the start. One of the reasons The Beast was loved so much was because it tossed you back into a wooded section of the park after the first hill. Son of Beast's location was...right in the middle of an open area of Kings Island, which kinda made it lose the atmosphere that its father had.

I rode on it a lot, both pre-loop and post-loop, and that ride never failed to always leave me feeling mangled. The worst parts were the corkscrew turns, which slammed you into the side of the car and then jolted you back when it started straight again.

One thing that amazed me about its grand re-opening in 2007 (after the loop was removed), was that they had actually purchased the old trains from Hurricane:Category 5 (The demolished coaster from Myrtle Beach) and custom-fit those for SoB. I had the unfortunate pleasure of riding Hurricane also before it was finally demolished; another pretty painful wooden coaster. Those trains were so old, and wore out, that I never really understood the logic in that move...they had to have only made the ride feel worse.
 
Rash said:
It's funny how the newer metal coasters can feature all sorts of drops and loops and yet, the scarier coasters will always be the oldschool wooden ones, just because they feel legitimately shakier and, shall I say, more dangerous.
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Ohhh yeah. Mean Streak is one of my favorite coasters ever, 3m 13s of relentless battery. I wish Cedar Point had more wooden coasters, though. Not a whole lot of room to expand unfortunately.
 
Magni said:
For the Silver Star at Europa-Park, there's a guy that waits at the very start of the line next to a mock chair, and if anyone looks too fat he'll check to see if they fit or not. I'm surprised that this wasn't as enforced in Texas, what with there being a shitton more fat/obese people.
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Interesting, noting like this is in any parc with coasters in Italy. They only have signs for minimum and maximum height and info about rider own responsibility.
 
Tritroid said:
Yeah, no kidding. Son of Beast was a failure from the start. One of the reasons The Beast was loved so much was because it tossed you back into a wooded section of the park after the first hill. Son of Beast's location was...right in the middle of an open area of Kings Island, which kinda made it lose the atmosphere that its father had.

I rode on it a lot, both pre-loop and post-loop, and that ride never failed to always leave me feeling mangled. The worst parts were the corkscrew turns, which slammed you into the side of the car and then jolted you back when it started straight again.

One thing that amazed me about its grand re-opening in 2007 (after the loop was removed), was that they had actually purchased the old trains from Hurricane:Category 5 (The demolished coaster from Myrtle Beach) and custom-fit those for SoB. I had the unfortunate pleasure of riding Hurricane also before it was finally demolished; another pretty painful wooden coaster. Those trains were so old, and wore out, that I never really understood the logic in that move...they had to have only made the ride feel worse.
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That's another reason why I'm not a fan of wooden coasters. The damn things are so shakey. I feel like they're going to fall apart right under me. I rode one once up in PA called the WildCat and I thought it was just going to fall apart. :/
 
DBT85 said:
What training was the attendant given?
How many "clicks" were they told to expect?
Is a "click" less safe than 2 or 3 or 4 "clicks"?
Is the ratchet system the only thing stopping the restraint from moving, or is there a secondary locking pin?
Did the restraint open, or did the woman fall out with the restraint closed?

It's far to early to just say it's the attendants fault.
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Someone that used to work at Six Flags told me once that the main thing keeping some of the restraints 'locked' is basically a rubber band(and not a big one at that.
 
Tedesco! said:
I haven't ridden Son of Beast since 2003 and my knees still haven't recovered.

Back in the 80's we were able to just about stand up in The Racer. I remember joking that it was the second standing coaster at KI. Good times...
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The Bat was insane in the 80's.
 
GraveRobberX said:
HOLY FUCKING SHIT

Look at the 3:47-3:48 Timestamp, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!

Both of them almost fly the fuck out of their restraints, WHAT THE FUCK!

That shit is UNFUCKINGSAFE!

My heart stopped right at the moment

The guy on the right almost flew out, the restraint held them down, but I think I know how the mother died now =/

Thank fuck they have they have those window barriers to the side, you know there would be assholes/idiots trying to spread their arm and try to get that flying motion
The structure being close, gave me chills, so of those tunnels/banks the coaster just looks so freaky
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That's normal for any roller coaster with lap restraints.
 
No offense, I mean I feel bad that she lost her life, but most coasters have tester seats out front of the attraction (so you can see if you can fit before waiting on a huge line only to find out you cant fit when you get to the loading area). Was there no tester seat for this attraction, and if there was, how come the attendant who works the entrance did not ask her to use the tester seat?

I am a larger fellow, and I ALWAYS use the tester seat out front. I want to make absolute certain I can fit in the car before I ride it.

I am good on almost all coasters, with the exception being the over the shoulder harness with the seatbelt in the middle (usually on rides where the track is above you). However some of these coasters have implemented a section of the ride train where the seatbelt fastens to the side of the hump, and it is two seatbelts that need to be fastened, so I usually ride in that row.
 
DBT85 said:
What training was the attendant given?
How many "clicks" were they told to expect?
Is a "click" less safe than 2 or 3 or 4 "clicks"?
Is the ratchet system the only thing stopping the restraint from moving, or is there a secondary locking pin?
Did the restraint open, or did the woman fall out with the restraint closed?

It's far to early to just say it's the attendants fault.
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I think it is safe to say we can cross this one off the list.
 
Mother_Sanchez said:
That's another reason why I'm not a fan of wooden coasters. The damn things are so shakey. I feel like they're going to fall apart right under me. I rode one once up in PA called the WildCat and I thought it was just going to fall apart. :/
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Ah, yes, the Wildcat at Hershey Park... that one is rough!
 
Ouch...that sucks to hear.

Sounds like some Final Destination crap right there.

D_N_G said:
We have season passes and go all the time to the Arlington location.
I stopped riding the Texas Giant about 5-6 years ago (before the hybrid rebuild). It had become way too shaky due to age and years of weather beating down the wood.
Each time I felt like my heart was going to explode after getting off the ride, and figured it probably would if I got back in line.
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I've been on the Texas Giant a few times over the years.

I remember it always being jerky as hell.

But yeah, I could see where it got way too shaky/jerky to a point.

Haven't been on it since they redesigned it though.
 
teh_pwn said:
When I was a kid, my brother nearly fell out of a roller coaster. We were sitting with each other and the roller coaster restraint was a fucking bar that folded down on your lap. Well it didn't go completely and he was small. I had to hold onto him.

I also got stuck on a roller coaster at 6 flags.

Then there was the hangman at Opryland which was aptly named hangman. Piece of shit.

They always seem questionable in terms of safety. I think skydiving is probably safer.
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this happened to me when I was a kid and my father had to hold me or I would have fell out. I was halfway out of the seat to, never went on another coaster since then.
 
Been to Six Flags and a few other parks in my lifetime, and while I rode my fair share of roller coasters during those trips I haven't been on one in about a decade and I really wouldn't mind it if I never rode on one again.
 
Zoso said:
they did.
frirqCt.jpg
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fuck
 
So, even if the deceased lady should have been more aware about her own body size in related to the safety of riding that ride, in the end I say the fault still lays on the staff. Why would they allow her to continue? They're trained for this.

Bollocks.

Especially this:

Brown told the Dallas Morning News that the woman had expressed concern to a park employee that she was not properly secured in her seat. "He was basically nonchalant," Brown said. "He was, like, 'As long as you heard it click, you're fine.' Hers was the only one that went down once, and she didn't feel safe. But they let her still get on the ride."
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What the fuck man, what the fuck.
 
Damn, The Texas Giant is pretty fun Coaster. Still will ride it again when I go to Dallas area next.
I am glad the chances of this happening to anyone are almost negligible
 
In case anyone cares... the ride restraint on the Texas Giant does not make "clicky" noises like some reports have mentioned... here is an in depth breakdown of the ride restraint system that that coaster has in place, and was in place when this poor woman lost her life:

From Screamscape:

Later updates by the local news stations also claim to have interviewed a woman who was next in line for Rosy’s seat in the station who claims that she showed concern about how the lap bar did not “click” more than once, but in reality Texas Giant’s lap bars use a hydraulic restraint system that does not produce any kind of “click” with a double redundant safety system to hold it in place. I believe there are also small green lights on the back of the train cars that come on to tell the ride ops that the lapbars have been lowered far enough and locked in place. Unless all the seat lights are lit green, the train should not be able to be dispatched out onto the ride course.
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Crag Dweller said:
The Bat was insane in the 80's.
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I'm still pissed that a buddy talked me out of going on The Bat in order to ride the Racers 22 times (won 20 times.) He told me it was lame and not worth the wait, but in retrospect and in light of all the "I'm never riding a coaster again" people here, I wonder if he was just scared.
 
In any case I can't imagine that the computer didn't pick this up. The train won't even leave the station if the restraints aren't secured to it's specifications. But yes body size on coasters have been a problem in America due to it's obesity rate, but this is staff and park's fault this time. Even though some of the blame should go to the lady.
 
R10Neymarfan said:
In any case I can't imagine that the computer didn't pick this up. The train won't even leave the station if the restraints aren't secured to it's specifications. But yes body size on coasters have been a problem in America due to it's obesity rate, but this is staff and park's fault this time. Even though some of the blame should go to the lady.
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It's been a couple of years since my law classes, but my understanding is as long as the majority of the reason for her death is negligence by lack of maintenance or staff failure and that reason is the proximate cause of her death it does not matter.

I think it's pretty clear from the information released thus far that the majority of the reason for her death was not her own fault, even if she is considerably overweight.
 
The phobia in this thread is as bad as people thinking typical commercial flights are very dangerous. Statistically, roller coasters are safe. Accidents do happen but they are extremely rare.

And while some GAF'ers shout, "HEY! this is unsafe because it looks unsafe!," I'll stick to what science says about roller coasters.
 
Going to quote myself as my own question was answered.

GhaleonEB said:
Horrifying story, especially if her son was there with her.

I wonder why the restraint did not lock fully. From the descriptions I can't tell if it was a malfunction of if it was not lowered far enough.
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Zoso said:
They've confirmed the identity of the victim as Rosy Esparza. RIP.

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My wife and I discussed this accident and we both wondered if she was obese, and that is why the bar did not lock down fully. (Though I see this bit of reporting is now in dispute.)

Hopefully there are further improvements to the safety bars, or restrictions on the passenger size, to ensure everyone is secured.
Suikoguy said:
It's been a couple of years since my law classes, but my understanding is as long as the majority of the reason for her death is negligence by lack of maintenance or staff failure and that reason is the proximate cause of her death it does not matter.

I think it's pretty clear from the information released thus far that the majority of the reason for her death was not her own fault, even if she is considerably overweight.
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I think this is why all of the theme parks I've been to have erred on the side of caution. My younger daughter has been creeping up to 48" high over the course of the past year, crossing it at the start of the year. So this year she could ride a lot of rides she could not last year. When we did parks last summer, she was about 47 and 3/4". And she didn't get by on ANY of the rides that have a 48" requirement. They really wanted to make sure they enforce safety standards without any exception. As they should.
 
They just brought up some interesting points on CNN a few minutes ago. Apparently a lot of these deaths over the past decade have involved people who were obese. The most famous cases (Superman coaster, Knotts Berry Farms, etc) involve people who were over 200lbs. I think we're getting close to parks implementing size limits to cover their butts. It's going to cause an uproar, but it might be the only option so this doesn't happen again.
 
Grizzlyjin said:
They just brought up some interesting points on CNN a few minutes ago. Apparently a lot of these deaths over the past decade have involved people who were obese. The most famous cases (Superman coaster, Knotts Berry Farms, etc) involve people who were over 200lbs. I think we're getting close to parks implementing size limits to cover their butts. It's going to cause an uproar, but it might be the only option so this doesn't happen again.
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I could see that, but could also see a "width meter" of so sort, like the have the height requirements.

It could be as simple as "sorry, but i cant let you on. you can't fit in the hula hoop."
 
reminds me of the one time in china where i rode some ghetto ass looking swinging disc thing.

Heard zero clicks, luckily the thing was held down with a seatbelt buckle thing, but yeah i could feel gravity dragging me down at times.

Might have shat myself.
 
there are alot of obese people at parks riding these things all the time so the people working there will check the bars and such as routine.

i wouldnt be surprised if other larger or much smaller attendants rode before her with no problems.
 
damn what a horrible incident.

A man fainted in front of me during a Space Mountain ride in Disney World in the 90s.
I was basicly a still a kid at that time.I will never forget the picture of the bouncing head and arms in every curve. I seriously thought the guy died during the ride.

It's beyond me how the wooden coaster at Bush Gardens is still in operation.
I know it's pretty new but riding it is more pain than joy. in fact most people said "never again" after our first and last ride. my ears were ringing and half of my body ached
 
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