Kings Island Closes Two Roller Coasters Following Fatal Incident at Six Flags Over Georgia
Diamondback and Orion, two of the biggest thrill rides at Kings Island in Ohio, are closed with no reopening date, and fans of the park are already speculating about how long the shutdown could last. The closures follow a death on a similar coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia.
What Happened on Goliath
On October 12, a man named Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, died after being “ejected” from his seat on Goliath, a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Police, eyewitness accounts, and on-ride photos indicate that he struck other riders and the ride’s infrastructure several times before coming to rest near a haunted house building used for the park’s Fright Fest event.
Passengers screamed as the train pulled into the station, and some reported blood on their clothing. Operators emergency-stopped the second train before it completed its ride, and everyone on board was evacuated. The cause remains under investigation.
Goliath was built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and has a clamshell-style lap bar with no secondary seatbelt or backup restraint.
Kariem worked at a school in Atlanta as an IT manager, robotics coach, and educator, and he was visiting the park with his family.
“This is Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem with a student who dressed as him for ‘dress as your favorite teacher’ day.
Instead of sharing the horrible six flags photo, I implore you to share this.
He was a father, son, teacher, he made an impact on his community. Let’s please focus on his life rather than his tragic passing. He was so much more than his final moments.
Sending love to every person whose life was touched by this poor man.”
Why Kings Island Is Affected
Citing an abundance of caution, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation closed nine B&M coasters with clamshell-style lap bars at six of its parks. Diamondback and Orion are two of them. One difference from Goliath is that both Ohio coasters also have seatbelts in addition to their main restraint.
A Reddit thread started by u/nick_the_fox confirmed the closures, stating:
Orion and Diamondback closed indefinitely officially confirmed.
Orion and Diamondback closed indefinitely officially confirmed.
byu/nick_the_fox inKingsIsland
How Long Will They Stay Closed?
Ohio theme park fans are divided. Many believe both rides will remain down for the rest of the Halloween Haunts season and the final “Bonus Weekend,” which ends November 8.
“They’re done for the year,” u/Next_Airline26 wrote. “Expect to see the trains coming off in the next week for an early start on maintenance.”
“Better to play it safe than sorry,” u/SwiftyMusicGods replied.
Others argued the extra seatbelts could make the Kings Island coasters among the first in the industry to return.
“I hope since the KI ones have seat belts unlike the SF ones this will just be an inspection and not a down for the season to overhaul the trains to add seatbelts etc.,” u/Omegatron387 argued.
“I don’t think they will be down the rest of the season since Diamondback and Orion both already have Seatbelts they are more likely to be the first coasters to open,” u/TheGine2010 added. “I think this weekend they will be closed next weekend is a toss up and the last weekend of haunt they will most likely be open. The only thing is if the investigation determines shoulder restraints are required it will be a while before B&M Hypers will be open as that will require extensive modification and possibly complete redesigning of the trains.”
Kings Island has not announced when it expects Orion or Diamondback to reopen.
Have you ever been on Orion or Diamondback at Kings Island? Tell Disney Dining about your experience in the comments.
