Man killed on a Six Flags roller coaster was thrown from the ride and hit other patrons, police say

MABLETON, Ga. — A 42-year-old man killed while riding a roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia was thrown from his seat and struck other patrons before landing below the ride, police said Tuesday.

Visitors to the Atlanta-area park watched in horror as he fell out of the coaster Monday, prompting Six Flags to temporarily close nine similar roller coasters nationwide.

Investigators and park officials have not said how he ended up coming out of his seat.

“It was horrific to watch,” said Summer Bates, who was at the park with her husband and three children. “One thing I think that will stick with us is the sound of his body coming down.”

Bates said she and her family rode the Goliath roller coaster earlier in the day. The park’s tallest coaster, which towers over its entrance at 200 feet, has lap bar restraints that pull down over the riders’ legs and waist. There are no seat belts.

“My older two children rode on the cart ahead of us,” she said. “I noticed they kept trying to push theirs down tighter. I assured them that they were OK. But once my husband, youngest child, and I loaded our cart and headed up the incline, I quickly understood why my older two were messing with theirs. It just didn’t feel secure and tight.”

The man who died was 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, according to Cobb County police. Officials have not released any other information about those who were injured when they were struck by the man.

Kariem worked as the information technology manager at a public charter school in Atlanta and before that was the school’s technology teacher, according to an online resume.

Logan Conner said he was on Goliath with his fiancée when he saw the man come out of his seat.

“The man started levitating in the air sideways,” he told NBC. “We made direct eye contact with him.”

Britny Landry had been on the ride earlier Monday and was waiting in line to go again.

“We just look, and I just see somebody fly out,” she told WAGA-TV. She said she wasn’t sure at first what she saw. “Maybe somebody had a bag or something.”

The park in Mableton, just northwest of Atlanta, already was scheduled to be closed Tuesday. One of Goliath’s other trains could be seen on the ride’s first hill Tuesday, seemingly where it stopped after the man fell from another train.

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. said it temporarily shut down nine similar roller coasters at six of its theme parks in the U.S. and Canada. Those parks were already scheduled for seasonal midweek closures on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The rides that were closed included a second coaster named Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California; Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America in Illinois; Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey; Fury 325 and Thunder Striker at Carowinds in North Carolina; and the rides Leviathan and Behemoth at Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario, Canada.

Six Flags did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions asking why those specific rides were shut down or what would be done before they reopen.

Georgia’s Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, which oversees ride inspections, is “conducting an in‑depth and comprehensive review,” said Garrison Bennett, a spokesperson.

Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss company that manufactured the coaster and many others worldwide, said it is “actively investigating the incident and will not comment further until we have a better understanding of what happened.”

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident,” the company said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the family and those affected.”

Operating for two decades in Georgia, the Swiss-designed Goliath uses a steep drop to reach top speeds of 70 mph — focusing on sheer velocity and downhill plunges rather than turning riders upside down through loops or corkscrews.

It’s far from the world’s tallest or fastest coaster.

The death is at least the seventh at the Georgia park since 1989, including two people who were in restricted areas and struck by roller coasters and two who died in auto accidents, according to the Doan Law Firm, which tallies amusement park accidents and represents victims.

In 2006, a man died after likely having a heart attack on the Goliath coaster, the law firm said.

The latest death comes less than two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain announced the retirement of its X2 roller coaster following lawsuits alleging riders suffered serious brain injuries. The California park settled one wrongful-death lawsuit with the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022.

Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt impact injuries after riding a high-speed roller coaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida. His death was ruled accidental.