Rollercoaster Accident at King's Island

[Sojiita]

Kings Island Investigating Roller Coaster Malfunction
Ride Closed Until Cause Of Incident Determined

UPDATED: 6:58 pm EDT July 10, 2006

MASON, Ohio -- At least 27 people were recovering on Monday after suffering chest and neck injuries Sunday on Kings Island's Son Of Beast roller coaster.
Many of those hurt suffered chest and neck injuries on the ride, NBC 4's Ana Jackson reported.

The ride malfunctioned and came to an abrupt stop at about 4:45 p.m.. Park officials said they are investigating what went wrong.

"The Son Of Beast train returned to the station after completing a full cycle," said Kings Island spokeswoman Maureen Kaiser. "Some of the guests on the ride did complain of discomfort."

State officials said a cracked timber may have caused the ride to malfunction.
Officials from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, including state agriculture Director Fred Dailey, inspected the ride today. Department spokeswoman Melanie Wilt said officials found a cracked timber as they began their investigation of the accident.

Son of Beast is the world's tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster, according to the park.

"There was a girl with a breathing mask on, and there was water in it, and she was sitting on the bench," said Alli Hehenann, a park guest. "There were many people crying."

A man who rode the coaster moments before it was shut down said the ride felt dangerous, Jackson reported.

"(The ride was) shaking real bad," said Frank Nitty, a park guest. "It just seemed like every time you were going to fall off."

Despite the mishap, the park stayed open and ended the night in fireworks, while Son Of Beast sat empty, Jackson reported.

Officials said the ride will not reopen until inspectors have done a thorough investigation and inspection and determine it is safe to ride.

Stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.

Previous Story:
July 9, 2006: 20 Hurt During Roller Coaster Mishap
http://www.nbc4i.com//news//9490608/detail.html

They are always having problems there. I remember when the original 'Beast' rollercoaster went through a raging brushfire that had broken out suddenly, and alot of people were burned as the coaster ran right through the flames. I was actually there when people were injured on the first stand up coaster they had there.*The cobra I believe* I was stuck myself for half an hour trapped in the "Screamin' Demon' coaster when it malfunctioned. (think this was early eighties???) I had the overhead thing pulled down too far and was stuck like that for half an hour when the ride malfunctioned and we were all just stranded there...in the broiling sun. First thing I did when they fixed it and I got off the ride was go find a bathroom and throw up!

[SVZ]

I was on a roller coaster once and it broke down right as we were on the top. It was a shitty and rickety wooden roller coaster, and the only two people on the ride were me and a friend

[Sojiita]

rare pic of the coaster at Buckeye Lake Amusement park, Ohio called 'The Dips', which ran out over a part of the lake. Replaced a coaster that was thrown down by a tornado in 1924(an omen perhaps)? It had already had 3 fatal accidents when, in 1958, the cable broke when the ride was near the top of the first hill, the pin to hold it in case this happened sheared off, and the coaster plunged backwards down the lift and crashed into the lake with 18 people on it. This was the last ride..and finally another storm blew the whole abandoned, weakened coaster into the lake in the late 60's-coasters were such fun back then!