Woman Dies on Texas Giant Ride at 6 Flags * Update

[freeflykat]

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro...e-involved.ece

Update at 9:10 p.m.: Our Tanya Eiserer spoke with Carmen Brown of Arlington, who says she was next in line to ride the Texas Giant behind the woman who fell to her death this evening. She told Tanya she witnessed the woman being strapped into the ride. She was sitting next to her son.

The woman, said Brown, “basically tumbled over and you just see her son [go], ‘Ahhh.’ They didn’t secure her right. One of the employees from the park — one of the ladies — she asked her to click her more than once, and they were like, ‘As long you heard it click, you’re OK.’ Everybody else is like, ‘Click, click, click.’ Hers only clicked once. Hers was the only one that went down once, and she didn’t feel safe, but they let her still get on the ride.

“That could have been me.”
Brown said the woman’s young son was in a seat in front of his mother.

“We heard her screaming,” Brown said. “We were like, ‘Did she just fall?’”

Update at 8:05 p.m.: Six Flags Over Texas spokesperson Sharon Parker just sent a statement that says in full:

The incident occurred shortly after 6:30 Friday evening. Witnesses, like the one below, say the restraints came undone, and the woman simply vanished off the towering ride. Others say people on the ground directed rescue workers to her location.

On Facebook, a woman who said she was next in line to ride the Texas Giant wrote that “the lady whose seat I was about to get into on the Giant wasn’t there when the red train came back!! Seriously! People in front row screaming when they came back that their mom was gone. We waited about 50 mins & now kids are freaking out.”

According to Six Flags, the ride rises as high as 14 stories and takes a 79-degree drop.

Literally just witnessed someone fly off of the Texas giant two seats in front of me. — joshua paul fleak joshfleak) July 19, 2013:
joshfleak what the heck! How?? — God'sLittlePrincess Vall_denise)
Vall_denise restraint came undone, coaster turned and she was gone — joshua paul fleak joshfleak) July 20, 2013

Original item at 7:57 p.m.: There have been multiple reports via Twitter this evening of a death at Six Flags Over Texas. Several have said someone fell off the Texas Giant roller coaster. One source says a woman fell from the ride.

But Arlington police want to be clear: They are not confirming anything until they meet with Six Flags officials. That meeting is taking place at this very moment concerning what officials are calling “a major incident.”

Our Tanya Eiserer and Tom Fox are on their way. Arlington PD and Six Flags officials have set up a media staging area.

[Megamel29]

Oh my god. That is awful. And right in front of her kids??

[kellyhound]

i smell a giant lawsuit coming up.

[MrCorpse]

Is there a video?

[Ozzman]

Let me guess, she was overweight?

[Darkest Angel]

If she was too big to click in properly, surely they would not allow her to ride. U would think anyway.

[DiamondSmiles]

Yep! Right in front of her son!

People don't give a shit about anyone anymore!

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013...r-coaster?lite

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...ail&FORM=VIRE6

Dallas Mom Was Woman Killed on Roller Coaster

Six Flags Over Texas theme park in Arlington confirmed that a woman died while riding the Texas Giant roller coaster on Friday. Police records show that the incident occurred just after 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday, family members identified the victim as Rosy Esparza of Dallas.

Park visitors told NBC 5 DFW that they saw a woman fall from the roller coaster. Witnesses said workers on the ride directed paramedics to the victim's location.

According to a witness, children were yelling, "we have to get my mom," when the roller coaster car pulled up at the end of the ride. Riders were hysterical and crying.

Witnesses said workers checked the restraints on the car after the accident.

People waiting in line for the roller coaster said park employees asked them to get out of line after the accident.

Park visitors also told NBC 5 DFW that the Titan roller coaster had been closed for a safety inspection. Workers could be seen on the roller coaster track.

On Saturday morning the park released a statement,

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. The investigation into the death at Texas Giant is still ongoing. We are working closely with authorities to determine the cause of the accident. The ride will remain closed. In addition, we have canceled the concert that was scheduled for today."

On Friday night, Six Flags Over Texas tweeted that the section of the park with the Texas Giant had been temporarily closed. The park also said it was, "deeply saddened," about the woman's death.

"Safety is our top priority and that section of the park has been temporarily closed," the park tweeted.

Earlier Friday, the theme park released this statement regarding the death,

"We are deeply saddened to share that earlier this evening an adult woman died in the park while on the Texas Giant. Park medical staff and local paramedics responded immediately. Since the safety of our guests and employees is our number one priority, the ride has been closed pending further investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends during this difficult time."

The park later tweeted, "We are deeply saddened about a death this evening on the Texas Giant. Our prayers are with the family and friends."

Word of the accident quickly spread, with many learning on social media. One mother rushed to Six Flags to pick up her son when she heard about the death.

"I was sick to my stomach with anxiety," Leslye Barnes.

Six Flags Over Texas completed a major overhaul of the Texas Giant two years ago. The $10 million renovation added a steel track to the wooden roller coaster and made the ride higher and faster.

The roller coaster, which opened in 1990, reaches 14 stories high and has a drop of 79 degrees. It can carry up to 24 riders.

A 28-year-old woman died and 10 other people were injured on the Roaring Rapids ride at Six Flags Over Texas in 1999 when their raft overturned in two to three feet of water. The woman was trapped in the ride and drowned.

[freeflykat]

Originally Posted by MrCorpse

Is there a video?

haven't seen one yet or pics, but i am digging around.

[freeflykat]

Originally Posted by Ozzman

Let me guess, she was overweight?

yep, and a witness said unlike all the other riders who's bars clicked three times her's only clicked once.

[stat007]

Originally Posted by Ozzman

Let me guess, she was overweight?

It would appear so.