Six Flags has operated the Goliath roller coaster near Atlanta for two decades, propelling thrill-seekers along tubes of American-made steel at 70 miles an hour.
When the ride was unveiled, the company hailed it as among the most significant new attractions since the park opened in 1967. At 4,400 feet long -- nearly twice the length of any of its coasters at the time -- Goliath stood as a "steel monster" and a "GIANT among coasters," the park said in a press release.
Now, Goliath has been temporarily shut down along with nine similar rides across the company following the death of 42-year-old Georgia teacher Hassan Kariem, who was ejected from the coaster.
Cobb County Police Department detectives and the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner's office, which oversees amusement parks in the state, are investigating. Six Flags said its roller coasters with designs similar to Goliath are closed "out of an abundance of caution."
For Six Flags Entertainment, it is a make-or-break moment. The company has struggled to increase attendance and revenue since its merger with rival theme-park operator Cedar Fair in July 2024. The latest incident at Six Flags Over Georgia brings fresh scrutiny on the safety of its rides, and risks upending the turnaround campaign that its leaders had under way.
Shares of Six Flags fell 14% in Tuesday trading. The company's share price is down more than 80% since the merger closed.
"Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with the individual involved, their family, friends and loved ones. We also continue to support the guests and team members affected," a Six Flags spokeswoman said.
A disappointing summer last year prompted the resignation of the company's chief executive, Richard Zimmerman, who had served in the same role at Cedar Fair prior to the merger. The situation also drew the attention of activist investor Jana Partners, which bought a 9% stake in the company as part of a group that also included NFL tight end Travis Kelce, husband of Taylor Swift.
More recently, Jana has called for Six Flags to explore a sale. Six Flags declined to comment on the recent activist pressure.
So far, the company has sought to streamline its operations by cutting staff and weaker-performing parks. Six Flags sold seven of its parks, including ones in Missouri, Michigan, New York and Texas, to EPR Properties. It also closed its property located in Maryland.
The turnaround was beginning to bear fruit. In the second quarter of this year, attendance across the company's 34 remaining theme and water parks in North America was up 4% from the prior year. Net revenue had increased 2.4% and its season-pass membership had grown 6% in the same time frame.
"The second quarter was an encouraging step in Six Flags' transformation," CEO John Reilly said during a call with investors and analysts in August.
Another focus in Six Flags' strategy: improving ride reliability. In a bid to reduce how often rides broke down, the company invested more in repairs and maintenance at certain parks, Reilly said during the call, referring to the availability of rides as one of the most important drivers of guest satisfaction. "We will not compromise on safety," he said.
The Goliath coaster was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, a Swiss firm widely regarded in the amusement industry for engineering reliable and safe rides. All but one of the 10 coasters that Six Flags temporarily closed following the fatal fall are B&M rides, and all feature the same clamshell-style lap-bar safety restraints.
"I call them the BMW of roller coasters," said Scott J. Smith, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina, who consults for various theme-park operators. (He doesn't work for Six Flags.) "The design is proven."
Jimmy Doan, a personal-injury attorney and CEO of the Doan Law Firm who has represented clients in theme-park-related cases, described the accident as "very unusual."
He drew comparisons between this incident and the 2022 death of a 14-year-old boy who fell from an amusement-park ride in Florida. Investigators found that the ride's operators had modified it such that the teenager was allowed on despite exceeding the weight limit set by the ride's manufacturer. The ride was closed permanently.
Another Six Flags ride faced a similar fate. Last month, the company said it had shuttered the X2 coaster at its Magic Mountain park in Southern California following multiple lawsuits alleging the ride resulted in severe brain injuries and at least one death.
"While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it's the right thing to do," Brian Oerding, Six Flags Magic Mountain park president, said in a statement on the company's website.
Across the industry, the Goliath accident led to a series of questions, with no immediate answers: Was the incident the result of a maintenance issue, a design flaw, or perhaps operator error? Would seat belts on the ride -- in addition to the lap bar already in place -- have helped?
"It's kind of a head-scratcher," said Martin Lewison, an associate professor of business management at Farmingdale State College, who studies the theme-park industry.
Years ago, Lewison rode Goliath back-to-back for hours at a theme-park industry event held at Six Flags Over Georgia. "B&M rides are so popular because they're fun," he said. "They're big, they're fast, they have a lot of forces."
On Monday, Kariem, who was a member of a popular roller-coaster-enthusiast Facebook group, went to the park. He was "smart as hell," and adored his hometown of Atlanta, said his cousin She L. Robinson, a publicist. He worked at a charter school as a technology teacher and robotics coach. "He was great with kids, a very loving man," Robinson said, encouraging people to remember the beloved person behind the headlines.
At the time of the roller-coaster accident, Sabrina Proano was in the park with her 14-year-old daughter and a friend for the Fright Fest event. She said multiple rides had been shut down for maintenance that morning. Around 4:30 p.m. local time, park employees hustled them out of the theme park and told them it was closed, she said, but they didn't explain why.
Proano bought season passes to the park that day and said she wants to find a way to get her money back.
"I'm never going back in my lifetime," she said.
