Woman May Have Not Been Properly Restrained in Six Flags Over Texas Accident

By Paul Thomson :: 1:19 PM

A woman who died after falling out of a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas yesterday may not have been properly restrained in the ride, according to witnesses who were on the coaster at the time she was ejected.

The accident occurred on the park’s Texas Giant coaster, a fixture at the establishment since 1990 when it opened as an all-wooden coaster. It was recently retrofitted with a steel track, and reopened to the public in 2011. At its highest point, the ride is 153 feet tall, and features a drop of 147 feet.

As the coaster climbed to the top of the track and then dropped, the woman apparently flew out of her seat.

“It released and she just tumbled,” said witness Carmen Brown, in an interview with Texas TV station WFAA. Brown also told the Dallas Morning News that the victim had complained to a park employee that she didn’t feel that the restraints at her seat had been properly fastened before the ride.  The photo above of a Texas Giant ride car shows that passengers are held in their seats by individual restraining bars.

In addition to Brown’s account, a passenger on the coaster who was seated behind the victim also confirmed an issue with the ride’s restraint system. Joshua Fleak tweeted, “Literally just witnessed someone fly off the Texas Giant two seats in front of me.” and then, in a second tweet, “Restraint came undone, coaster turned, and she was gone.” Fleak has since made his Twitter account private.

The Texas Giant ride remains closed at Six Flags today as investigators try to piece together what happened.

“Since the safety of our guests and employees in our number one priority, the ride has been closed pending further investigation,” the park said in a statement released on Friday evening.