Six Flags Investigates Georgia Roller Coaster Accident

One person died and several others were injured Monday afternoon after an incident involving a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia in Georgia, prompting an investigation by Cobb County Police and temporary closures of similar rides at Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario.

Authorities have not confirmed how the person died or what caused the injuries. Detectives from the Cobb County Police Department’s major crimes unit are investigating the incident at the park located about 25 kilometres northwest of Atlanta.

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation temporarily closed Behemoth and Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland after identifying them as similar attractions to the ride involved in Georgia. The closures were announced as a precaution, with no reopening timeline provided.

A Six Flags spokesperson said the company and park officials were cooperating with local authorities during the investigation.

"We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today," a Six Flags spokesperson said.

Local television footage showed passengers being evacuated from the Goliath coaster, although officials did not identify the ride involved. The Goliath opened in 2006 and reaches speeds of about 113 km/h and heights of 61 metres, according to the park’s website.

"navigate through razor-sharp turns and soar over colossal hills," according to the Six Flags Over Georgia website.

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners addressed the incident as officials worked to notify next of kin. Chair Lisa Cupid said the community was responding to the death at a major tourism destination.

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

"We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories," Lisa Cupid, chair of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, said.

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation spokesperson Sara Gorgon said the company’s broader precautionary response included temporary ride closures across its parks.

"similar attractions," Sara Gorgon, a spokesperson for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily closed similar attractions across our parks," Sara Gorgon, a spokesperson for Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, said.

The Georgia incident would be at least the seventh death recorded at the park, including a 2006 case involving a man who suffered a likely heart attack on the Goliath coaster, according to the Doan Law Firm.