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1984 was the year of Six Flags Great America's worst accident. His father filed a $1 million lawsuit against the park for injuries sustained. The flames threatened the adjacent Royale Theater, but firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading. When the ride finally reopened after already being checked for inspection beforehand, only one of the coaster's trains was running. "Additionally, we have an outstanding maintenance team, and our maintenance and safety experts complete extensive safety checks before opening the rides each day. On March 12, 2006, ten people suffered minor injuries when the Gunslinger, a, On September 5, 2011, a 64-year-old woman from. Five people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation while seven were taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. Other complaints were safety-related, such as notices of ride operators talking on cell phones while operating rides. The most serious violation were discovered in November and December 2019, when state inspectors shut the ride down due to "major rust and corrosion" and ordered "much-needed repairs on the ride," including the replacement of 16 sections of steel and additional areas of plywood, inspection records show. Updated: Aug 26, 2022 / 06:56 PM EDT. El Toro, one of the park's signature roller coasters, has remained shuttered since June 29, A 12 -year-old boy got off The Joker roller coaster. Story:An employee tried to cross the tracks as the Revolution roller coaster was pulling into the loading area. A seventh passenger, a nine-year-old boy who bumped his head, was sent to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital for observation and then released. On May 30, 1996, 25-year-old park attendant Cherie La Motte of, On June 13, 2015, 10-year-old Jasmine Martinez who was riding the roller coaster was found unconscious but breathing after returning to the ride's station. ", Interview: 'The Joker' injury 'super scary' for son, mother says. When the ride was temporarily shut down, employees fully inspected it and a park spokesperson claimed that it was found to be operating normally. On August 16, 1981, a 20-year-old park employee from, On August 29, 1981, a 19-year-old woman from. No one was hurt in the accident and passengers had to be evacuated. West, 22, was one of six young people who died in a Barrie single-vehicle crash in the early hours of Sunday morning. On September 30, 2017, several guests on the Silver Bullet suffered injuries as the ride came to a stop. The girl was scarred by the phone and her family pushed Six Flags to be more strict on loose articles aboard their attractions. The park was not open to the public at the time. The iconic Superman ride at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois has become a beloved attraction for roller coaster enthusiasts and Superman fans alike. Six Flags Great Adventure is a household name across the tri-state area, welcoming 3.4 million visitors in 2018, according to a report from the Themed Entertainment Association. On August 8, 1968, ride operator John Raymond Nelson approached the ride before it stopped so he could quickly unload the passengers. On June 23, 2021, a fight between six and eight people broke out in the parking lot. Whether the incidents, coming in such quick succession, speak to any wider concerns about safety or worker trainingis unclear. The ride remained closed until further inspection deemed it was safe to operate. Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. On July 18, 1978, the braking system on the coaster malfunctioned which caused the train to go 3 feet (0.91m) backwards on the ride's lift hill when it was up the 75 feet (23m) incline of its midpoint. A supporting cable snapped, and the mechanism's anti-rollback devices failed to stop the car from plummeting nearly 60 feet to the bottom of the tower. Three of the passengers drowned during the scene and ten were taken to a hospital for further evaluation. The park remained closed for the remainder of the day, but re-opened as normal the following day. On September 3, 1983, a train filled with riders collided into the back of another train which was leaving the station. Of these, 5 were hospitalized and all 5 were released shortly after. After the incident, the ride remained closed the next day following an investigation from the park staff and the fire department and re-opened a day later. The train came to a stop just short of the final brake run, where the riders were safely evacuated. Five passengers were injured and were treated at local hospitals. On October 12, 2008, a park employee dressed up as a werewolf suddenly lost balance while walking on stilts and fell through a window inside the park's restaurant, injuring a guest who was standing nearby the window. On June 8, 2002, a 4-year-old girl was critically injured when she slipped beneath the restraining bar and fell from the Starfish ride while riding with her mother, receiving critical head injuries. On August 31, 1980, Jamie Pratt, a 17-year-old female park employee from. The train was upright on a curve near one of the highest points on the ride. . On July 11, 2007, a 37-year-old man was charged with improper photography and recording after allegedly acting suspiciously with a video camera by secretly filming young girls in the water park section. In 2009, one train was red-tagged because it lacked proper signage but the issue was cleared on the same day. The incident was caused by a sudden gust of wind tilting the chute once it began its descent by altering its speed, triggering a safety brake on its cable. On May 10, the ride was finally considered to be in compliance with state laws governing carnival and amusement ride safety just 34 days before the tipped-boat incident, which led to another nearly month-long shutdown while "internal and external experts investigated the incident and a full safety inspection was completed," Fitzgerald said in the statement. The ride wasbriefly shut down in 2015 for failing to provide a cover for a differentground fault circuit interrupter. Park officials say it was the result of 'inappropriate horseplay'. In 2019, Six Flags faced a lawsuit that went to the, On September 23, 2017, at around 9pm during the park's annual Fright Fest event, a family from. Wave Pool Is Ruled Drowning: Medical Examiner Finds Boy's Death At Wave Pool Was Result of Drowning", "Body of Newborn Boy Found At Wild World Amusement Park", "Six Flags Keeps Slide Closed After Death", "Teen who nearly drowned at Six Flags park taken to hospital in critical condition", "Child Hurt After Slipping Into Wave Pool at Six Flags", "All Passengers Rescued From Stuck Roller Coaster at Six Flags America", "24 People Rescued From Roller Coaster Stuck at Six Flags", "Girl Falls from Ride at Six Flags America - CoasterCritic", "Three People Hurt at Six Flags America During Fright Fest - NBC4 Washington", "Six Flags America reopens after bomb threat", "Six Flags America in Prince George's County evacuated after phone threat", "Prince George's police continue to investigate weekend brawls at Six Flags America", "Park visitors injured on water ride - Gazette.Net", "Roller coaster malfunction strands riders at Six Flags", "Md. Sutherland had been reported missing the previous day. On July 26, 1978, a man and two of his three nieces who were riding with him died when their gondola fell from the cable. On July 11, 2016, a malfunction occurred on one of the ride's cables. On July 10, 2021, a person suffered minor injuries after getting their foot lodged between the coaster's cars and the station platform. The operators of Six Flags Great America in Gurnee are tearing down the Edge, the 131-foot-high thrill ride on which three teenagers were injured in 1984. It was the third violent incident of the day, following two earlier unrelated stabbings. "It is one of our signature attractions, and we are working diligently to reopen the ride following testing and a full safety inspection by both internal and external experts," she said. Two other rides at the amusement park were also affected with the fuse. Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor is a world-class theme park and water park located between Chicago and Milwaukee on I-94 in Gurnee, Illinois. On Sept. 7, four people were. His limb got caught between the car and the platform as the ride reentered the station and slowed to a stop. In 2001, a 13-year-old boy was ejected from the ride due to a faulty lap bar and suffered broken bones in his head, pelvis, and legs. All passengers were evacuated from the area to continue their visit to the park. The ride was temporarily shuttered after the malfunction, which sent one guest to the hospital with leg pain and another with an arm injury. Story:Twenty-three people were stuck upside down on the Demon coaster for nearly three hours after one of the trains unexpectedly stopped moving during a vertical loop. Martin, the amusement park safety consultant,said repeated problems with ground faults should be treated as a "very serious" issue, noting that it would be a "life or death situation if someone got shocked. On May 2, 1999, one of the trains stalled between the second and third hills. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Airlifted to the. On May 29, 2014, opening day, a 14-year-old girl fell ill while using the park's wave pool. On July 4, 2005, a 29-year-old woman from. An 11-year-old boy was killed and his brother was left in a medically induced coma after their raft overturned on a rapids ride in Iowa on July 4. On March 6, 2021, a 2-year-old boy was fatally struck by a car in the parking lot. He was decapitated in the process. Investigators ruled that a guide wheel running along the inside of the track separated from the axle of the last car, triggering a safety mechanism that kept the train from derailing. On September 18, 1976, 19 people suffered minor injuries after a coaster train collided into the other that was parked at the station. A defectiveground fault which shuts off power in the event of a ground-fault, which could cause electrocution could cause a serious, life or death issue if leftunfixed or is a recurringissue, Martin said. The rider suffered a fractured pelvis. The fire was contained to a single building, located adjacent to the park's wave pool and used principally for storage. El Toro is one of the tallest wooden rollercoasters in the world with a maximum speed of 70 mph. Friday's accident occurred the same day a 10-year-old girl was airlifted to a hospital when she was found unconscious after riding a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California. In a statement, the park said that the ride will be completely re-inspected by a third party maintenance team and the state of New Jersey prior to reopening. Inspection records for The Joker and Nitro, also requested by the Network, have not yet been made public by the state. All of the lawsuits were settled for $2.53 million. National Safety Council'smost recent survey, Click here to see the 7 most interesting facts about the roller coaster giant >. Six Flags Great Adventure is a household name across the tri-state area, welcoming 3.4 million visitors in 2018, according to a report . Park staff responded immediately to the incident and the victim was safely removed from the ride, then transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. On July 23, 1974, the victim filed a $250,000 lawsuit to cover medical expenses, lost past and future wages, and for "anguish" caused by a "disfiguring" facial scar. On July 15, 2012, a goose was trapped in the ride's conveyor belt. She slid backwards and hit herself on a pole. Reports from eyewitnesses vary on the distance she fell, ranging from 4 feet (1.2 m) to 25 feet (7.6 m). In the video, a. In July 2014, a dozen lawsuits were filed against the park and the Rockford Park District after many guests complained of suffering spinal and back injuries while on the ride. On April 28, 1985, two passengers were left stranded on one of the parachutes for more than an hour as its weight was moving too slow and hit another cable nearby. The local fire department used an. Ahead of Tuesday's earnings announcement, we thought that we'd review some of the worst incidents at Six Flags,the nation's largest theme-park operator. The rules required riders to have both legs safely secure when boarding the train. Furthermore, it is unclear what steps the park will take to ensure that an accident of this type does not reoccur. A month earlier, a47-year-old woman died on an Indiana roller coaster after the force of the ride tore an artery in her chest, causing severe blood loss, a coroner ruled. Park officials said that they believe the girl fell because she was standing up while the ride was moving. The ERG bloc of Conservative MPs has convened a 'star chamber' to sift through . The fire was caused by welders working on removing track. On September 10, 2016, at 1:30p.m., an unspecified phone threat caused an evacuation of the park, though a security sweep did not detect any suspicious activity. In June and July, inspectors found overgrown vegetation near the track and a loose handrail and tripping hazard on ramps, which employees were instructed to fix and remove. No one was arrested by the police during the scene, but the park had to close earlier than expected. On June 21, 2019, two riders were injured as a falling tree branch toppled on top of them while on the coaster. infamous, injury-riddled theme park in North Jersey, tipped over one boat full of riders on June 13, 'The Joker' injury 'super scary' for son, mother says, New Jersey shuts down El Toro roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure after derailment, Book recounts history of Action Park, 'America's most dangerous amusement park', Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The park was evacuated a few minutes after the shooting, about an hour earlier than its scheduled 8:00p.m. closing time. In five years, the ride has gone through periodic rehab and repair, from clearing brush and small trees away from an evacuation stairway to remediating rot and rust on the columns holding it up. On May 29, 2004, Jack E Brouse, a 52-year-old ride mechanic from, On May 3, 2003, 11-year-old Erica Emmons from, On March 11, 2008, a 46-year-old man from, On August 16, 2006, a 10-year-old girl from, On September 9, 2017, 50-year-old Scott Barnes from. Remember to buy your parking online before you visit. Five of them were taken to the hospital for evaluation. A park spokesperson said that the ride's vehicle was already inspected and found to be operating normally. The. On May 27, 1984, four passengers were injured after a computer malfunction caused the ride's cables to drop the planes out of position. All were eventually escorted safely off and the ride remained closed following an investigation according to park officials. The report stated that the state of California received notice of 80 injuries at Magic Mountain between January 2001 and December 2006. A coroner's report said the girl died from, On April 9, 2004, 21-year-old park employee Bantita Rackchamroon died after being struck by the roller coaster while underneath the track during a test run prior to the park's opening that day. Request More Information Select Days May 1 - June 11 2023 Math & Science Days Take your classroom to new heights! In October 2007, a roller coaster train unintentionally rolled back into the station hitting a pipeline carrying hydraulic fluid which sprayed onto several riders. Of the 22 people that were on board the ride, 10 of them suffered injuries and were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital for treatment. Story:After not being strapped into her shoulder harness properly, a girl fell to her death during the loop-the-loop roller-coaster ride. In 2007, the zero-g rolls were removed from both sides and the Batman train was repainted red. The log flume was closed for 17 months, including the entire 2020 season. The passenger, a 14-year-old girl, was hospitalized with leg injuries and released. Several passengers were treated by first aid staff and the ride closed for inspection and evaluation. Six Flags Great America is a 304-acre (123 ha) amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area.The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the Marriott Corporation. , but firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading 2019, two riders were injured as a falling branch... 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