One guest has died and several others are injured after an incident on one of Six Flags Over Georgia’s roller coasters on Monday, officials have confirmed.
The Cobb County Police Department said the incident happened shortly before 4 p.m. at the park.
“Several people were reported injured, and one person has died,” the police department said in a statement.
While the agency did not give specifics about which roller coaster the incident involved, CBS News Atlanta cameras saw that the park’s Goliath ride had shut down, and guests were being evacuated from the ride’s largest hill via an emergency stairway.
Details about the situation remain limited, and authorities have not released the guest’s identity.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Six Flags said the company was “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest’s family, friends, and loved ones. We are also providing support to the guests and team members affected,” the spokesperson said. “The park team and local authorities responded immediately, and we are cooperating fully with local authorities as they complete their investigation.”
Sherry Sutton says her children rode the Goliath ride only about 20 minutes before the incident happened. She says people left the park in a calm, orderly fashion when an announcement over the park’s loudspeakers said that Six Flags was closing.
“When we first got the announcement, it was kind of like one person began to move and they said, ‘Did you hear that? And everybody was like, ‘No.’ And they was like, ‘ Did you hear that? And everybody was like, ‘No, what did they say? And then, very faintly under the Six Flags music, you heard somebody say, ‘Please leave. The park is now closed.'”
Mableton Mayor Michael Owens said the city’s public safety director is coordinating with Cobb County police and the park about the situation.
First opened in 2006, the Goliath reaches a top height of 200 feet — the largest in the park — and drops 170 feet down at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour.
Last month, the company announced it would be permanently closing its X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. The closure comes amid multiple lawsuits alleging that more than 100 riders were left with brain injuries connected with the ride.
