Six Flags Closes 9 Rides After Georgia Roller Coaster Death

Six Flags has temporarily shut down nine roller coasters at six of its North American parks after a 42-year-old Atlanta man was ejected from the Goliath ride at Six Flags Over Georgia and fell to his death, an incident that also injured several other riders and sent the company’s stock tumbling.

Cobb County police on Tuesday identified the victim as Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, who worked as an information technology manager at Wesley International Academy, a charter school in Atlanta, according to CBS News Atlanta. The fall occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Monday, Columbus Day, at the park in Austell, about 10 miles west of downtown Atlanta.

What Police Say Happened

According to the Cobb County Police Department, preliminary findings from witness and employee interviews indicate Kariem was “ejected from the ride and struck other patrons before falling beneath the attraction.” Officers who responded found him unresponsive and not breathing beneath the ride, NBC News reported. The department’s Major Crimes Unit is leading the investigation, and officials have said it is not yet known what caused him to come out of his seat.

Witnesses described a harrowing scene. Nick Mendenhall, who had ridden Goliath with his teenage son minutes earlier, said he saw Kariem rise out of his car. “I literally see this man come straight up out of his seat and it looked like he went forward in the car,” he said. “It was literally the closest you could have possibly been to where it happened in the park on the ground.”

Another rider, Logan Conner, told NBC News the man “started levitating in the air sideways. We made direct eye contact with him.” A separate witness told local station WXIA that Kariem “fell and hit the car three different times” and landed on the roof of a haunted house attraction below.

Witnesses said Kariem was riding with a young boy who appeared to be his son, while a woman and a young girl who appeared to be his wife and daughter watched from the ground. Several other people were reported injured, though officials have not disclosed how many or their conditions.

Company Response and Ride Closures

Six Flags said it was “deeply saddened by the guest incident” and was providing support to affected guests and employees. “The park team and local authorities responded immediately, and we are cooperating fully with local authorities as they complete their investigation,” a park spokesperson said.

The company then broadened its response. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily closed similar attractions across our parks,” a Six Flags spokesperson said, adding that “the safety of our guests and team members remains one of our highest priorities.”

The nine closed rides are Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America; Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain; Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure; Leviathan and Behemoth at Canada’s Wonderland; Fury 325 and Thunder Striker at Carowinds; and Orion and Diamondback at Kings Island, CBS News reported. Like Goliath, each is a large, high-speed coaster. The company has not said when they will reopen. Six Flags Over Georgia was closed Tuesday for a scheduled non-operating day.

Goliath, designed and built by Switzerland’s Bolliger & Mabillard, opened in 2006 and is Georgia’s tallest roller coaster at roughly 200 feet, with a drop of more than 200 feet and speeds of at least 70 mph. The ride lasts about 3.5 minutes.

The Victim and His Community

Kariem’s death reverberated through the Atlanta school where he worked. Wesley International Academy sent a letter to families calling the loss “heartbreaking.” “Mr. Kariem was a valued member of our Wesley family, and his loss will be deeply felt throughout our school community,” the letter said. Atlanta Public Schools said his “presence and impact will be deeply missed by our students, staff, and all those whose lives he touched.”

Cobb County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said she could not “imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed.” “We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories,” she said.

A Pattern of Safety Concerns

The Georgia death is the latest in a string of safety incidents involving Six Flags coasters. In September, Six Flags was named in multiple lawsuits alleging that riders suffered brain injuries on the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs said more than 100 people had come forward with similar claims, NBC News reported.

The company later announced it was permanently retiring X2. “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,” Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding said, according to Fox Business. The announcement followed a settlement with the family of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old who died from blunt-force head trauma a day after riding X2 in 2022. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has an ongoing investigation into the ride.

Monday’s death would be at least the seventh at the Georgia park, according to the Doan Law Firm, which tracks amusement park accidents and represents victims.

Financial Fallout and Regulatory Questions

Investors reacted sharply. Six Flags shares fell more than 16% on Tuesday to $9.98, their lowest level in 2026 and on track for the worst closing price since 2009, the New York Post reported. The stock had already been under pressure, falling after its second-quarter earnings in August and losing about two-thirds of its value over three years. Activist investor Jana Partners has been urging the company to explore a potential sale, according to the Wall Street Journal. Six Flags is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Nov. 5.

The incident has also renewed questions about how amusement rides are regulated. Safety oversight in the United States is largely handled at the state level, with no single federal standard. Brian Avery, a legal and risk professor at the University of Florida, told CBS News that investigators will examine video footage, maintenance logs and statements from witnesses and ride attendants to determine a root cause. He called for national consistency. “We need uniformity in our standards and we need an understanding of how each park is operating so that they’re operating according to the same book,” he said.

What to Watch

Police have not released a cause of death, and the investigation is ongoing; anyone with information is asked to call the Cobb County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit at 770-499-3945. The central unanswered question remains why Kariem came out of his restraint at all — a finding that could shape both the criminal inquiry and any civil litigation. Beyond the immediate case, how quickly Six Flags reopens the nine idled coasters, and whether regulators revisit the patchwork of state oversight that governs the industry, may determine how far the consequences of Monday’s tragedy reach.