Theme Parks

knedeau · Post by **knedeau** » Aug Mon 14, 2006 7:04 pm

Yeah! That was the one I rode on! Six Flags New England in Agawam MA! We were talking about it on Friday when we went.

AKLRULZ · Post by **AKLRULZ** » Aug Mon 14, 2006 8:50 pm

js3901 wrote:we had a guy die on our Six Flags Superman coaster. it used to just have the lap bar in the shape of superman's belt, and the guy that died was a little on the "chubby size" (the news report said he was well over 350 lbs, and perfect in shape (albeit in a round shape)), so the lap bar really didn;t restrain him too well. he lasted through the ride ok, but at the end just before pulling in the station, the brakes stopped the car dead and most people complained about slight whiplash as a result. well, long story short, because the restrait could really restrain him, when he stopped, he really flew for about 50 feet, sliding a good 30 feet of that over nothing but concrete and large gravel at a speed around 40 mph. as a result, he suffered a fractured skull, 5 broken ribs, and a punctured lung. it's the lung that did him in...

Wasn't that guy also in a wheelchair and partially paralyzed? And hadn't he been denied boarding this coaster in the past? It seems like there was some rider negligence in this accident as well as some contributory negligence by the ride operators who let him on - he was definitely too large to ride, notwithstanding his disability of not being able to control his body.

This was a terrible accident, but I personally can't blame Six Flags for it in it's entirity.

Post by **js3901** » Aug Tue 15, 2006 12:07 am

it wasn;t the one in MA. This one was at Six Flags Darien Lake which is in between Buffalo and Rochester, NY. I also don;t think the guy was in a wheelchair. he may have been, but I'm not sure. this was also just after the coaster was built, so he was one of the first ones to ride it. since that accident, in addition to the restraints, they also added seat belts to help keep people in place. Although, they do deny people from getting on if they are big enough that the restraint doesn;t click at least twice.

AKLRULZ · Post by **AKLRULZ** » Aug Tue 15, 2006 6:22 am

js3901 wrote:it wasn;t the one in MA. This one was at Six Flags Darien Lake which is in between Buffalo and Rochester, NY. I also don;t think the guy was in a wheelchair. he may have been, but I'm not sure. this was also just after the coaster was built, so he was one of the first ones to ride it. since that accident, in addition to the restraints, they also added seat belts to help keep people in place. Although, they do deny people from getting on if they are big enough that the restraint doesn;t click at least twice.

My bad - I know about the accident you're referring to also and I don't think the dude was paralyzed, but was just too large for the restraint.

Cheshire Cat · Post by **Cheshire Cat** » Aug Sat 26, 2006 10:56 am

Ugh... I hate six flags parks but my dad insists on visiting them all. The only decent one i remember is Great Adventure in NJ. It reminds me a little of Busch Gradens because they do a fairly good job theming a few areas. (Busch Gardens Williamsburg is still way better though, almost up there with Disney)

foldmama · Post by **foldmama** » Sep Tue 05, 2006 3:39 pm

In Rye, New York we have Playland which is actually run by the county of Westchester. It is one of the oldest parks in the US. My first coaster was the Dragon Coaster at Playland! Playland is small in comparison to the newer parks and it still has some of the original rides on site. Small,, cute and it has a ton of history.