20 Hurt in Ohio Roller Coaster Mishap

[seriousstan]

A malfunction on an amusement park ride Sunday sent at least 20 people to hospitals, most with minor chest and neck injuries, a sheriff's office dispatcher said.

The accident happened on the Son of Beast roller coaster at Paramount's Kings Island just northeast of Cincinnati.

WCPO-TV reported that witnesses saw the roller coaster come to an abrupt stop.

Riders complained of discomfort after the coaster completed a circuit and pulled back into the boarding area, said Maureen Kaiser, a spokeswoman for the park. The park's emergency staff tended to the riders and notified authorities, Kaiser said.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/09/D8IOPMH82.html



http://www.coasterphotos.com/PKI/sob.htm

[jobycom]

1. That's a wooden coaster with an inversion?

I've never seen that before.

[rexcat]

23. It is the only one in the world...

We live 5 minutes from the park and this wooden roller coaster is great. It tops out at 84 mph. The loop is metal but the rest of the coaster is made from wood.

[jobycom]

24. I really have to get out to Ohio

So many great roller coasters! Must get there before I get too old to ride them!

[rexcat]

26. We should have a DU meet up at KI!

[VolcanoJen]

30. I'm all for that, rexcat!

:bounce:

[Marie26]

29. Go to Cedar Point!

They have the best roller-coasters in the country.

[jobycom]

34. It's on my short list. My niece brings it up every time I see her. Sadly

Ohio is a long way from Austin or Gulfport.

[snooper2]

27. Texas Giant is the #1 wooden in World, or so claimed...

I along with 5 friends of mine got high riding the Giant back in 2000, it was greatness...

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/overtexas/Rides/giant.html

Introduced March 17, 1990

Height 143 feet

Length 4,920 feet

Top Speed 62 MPH

Trains 3, 28-passenger trains

Height of First Drop 137 feet at 53 degree angle

Ride Time 2 Minutes

Trains Manufacturer Philadelphia Toboggan

Height Restriction must be at least 48" tall to ride

Construction Dinn Corporation, Cincinnati, OH

[jobycom]

33. My daughter won't ride rollercoasters still because of the Texas Giant

We snuck her on it when she was five, and about an inch too short. Long story why, but basically, I didn't know what the ride was until we had gotten up to it (the entrance was in the same place as an older, milder ride that's no longer there). She wanted to ride it, and I, stupidly, let her. I didn't realize she didn't know what a roller coaster was until we got up near the crest of the first hill, and I realized just how high it was. I tried to warn her without scaring her, by saying, "Now, sweetie, this is very high." She smiled and looked around and said "I know, it's very pretty up here." That's when I knew she was in trouble. She was crying after the first hill, and it was all I could do to keep her from squirming out from beneath the bar to get out. You'd be surprised--it's not as hard to do as you'd think.

Anyway, at the very end she yelled "I don't ever, ever, ever, ever, ever want to go on that ride again! Ever!" She won't even go log rides or those little mine ride coasters now.

So yeah, I know it's a great wooden roller coaster, and I ride it when I can (the Rattler in San Antonia is almost, not quite, as good), but it has reached mythic proportions in our family. And it was the worst parenting decision of my life! (so far.)

[snooper2]

41. lol

it is a scary bastard, it shakes, feels like the cars are off the track, old splitered wood...I still close my eyes

[jobycom]

44. Yeah, you know what you just did?

Now I have to Dallas this weekend! At least I have season passes. lol I love that ride, and I still haven't ridden the Titan.

[shanti]

38. color me stupid

but what's an "inversion" in relation to a roller coaster? :shrug:

[jobycom]

39. Upside down loop.

[shanti]

45. gotcha!

:thumbsup:

[WCGreen]

2. It's Ken Blackwells Fault...

He is from there, you know...

God is telling the people not to support Ken Blackwell through this sign...

[gratuitous]

17. I've heard some people are saying that

Which should be sufficient for the popular media to say that, without attribution or rebuttal, don't you think?

[WCGreen]

20. Of course.....

Attrubuted to this guy who knew that guy who overheard some people...

[Rhiannon12866]

19. The paper was probably the wrong weight. That'll do it, every time... n/t

[rexcat]

25. Kings Island is in Mason, OH (Warren County)...

and Ken Blackwell is from Cincinnati (as in Hamilton County). We have enough problems with out Blackwell. On the down side Raga, his running mate, is from Mason and Raga is as bad as Blackwell.

[CanuckAmok]

3. Anyone else see RW banner ads on this link?

I'm not dispiting the veracity of the story, I'm just wondering why a news source is soliciting partisan advertising.

Colour me naive.

[alittlelark]

4. Glad I missed this coaster on last summers' 'Coaster Fest'

I prefer metal coasters...........

[KKKarl is an idiot]

13. Me too!

I also prefer metal coasters. Wooden coasters are generally to rough.

[JesterCS]

5. Funny enough

i rode that coaster before it was open to the public.. i help build it afterall. I worked at Kings Island for 2 years. and did some of the audio and electrical. Its a safe ride. Never had problems the 2 years i worked there. Those kinds of things happen.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. "Those kinds of things happen"???

Doesn't sound like a safe ride.

[seriousstan]

7. Yes, it is called an accident. You find it and fix it. It is a machine.

To whine about every failure is to live in a cave.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. People got hurt

I think the "whining" is pretty understandable.

[MnFats]

10. this seems to be happening more frequently...

...at Valley Fair (twin cities) they send 20-some to hospitals recently when a car left the track and a couple days ago in no.minn. at a regional fair they had a ride come crashing down leaving two critical...

[zonkers]

21. Insurance costs must be astronomical for Amusement Parks. I know

6 Flags is shutting down many of their operations.

[JesterCS]

8. re:

well there are all sorts of mishaps.

One of the rides in the park " Flight of Fear " has to be re-wielded everynight. but its still safe. The "Racers" are like 80 years old ( rebuilt though ) and they are rough.. i walk off of that with neck pain.

The orignal "Beast" is actually quite a smooth ride.

Im willing to bet it was a software error with the controls. It think it happened a few times when they initially tested it. but they fixed the program. Could just be some more bad coding that creeped its way to the surface.

[meisje]

11. probably running windows 95 or 98 or me or 2000 or xp

[Ex Lion Tamer]

12. Son of Beast is real rough.

It gets real brutal starting after the inversion. Gives me a headache every time, so I don't ride it anymore.

The Beast is a wonderful ride, but the double helix near the end gets a bit rough also.

[JesterCS]

22. the funny thing is

the original Beast has gotten smoother over the years. When i was younger it was rough. Now it seems fairly fluid except for the end like you said

[Marie26]

31. It is

I had a stiff neck after riding it - the Beast is a lot more fun. But I guess all wooden rollar coasters are rougher to ride.

[Roland99]

14. A friend of mine hurt her back on that a couple of weeks ago

But, that was partly her fault. Still, though, I've heard that ride is a very rough one.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Yikes! This is HUGE!!! I worked at an amusement park for six summers,

but nothing like this ever happened there... I actually almost fell out of a roller coaster, myself, when I was stupid and neglected to belt myself in, and was scared witless. But it wasn't nearly this big... These people were very lucky. It could have been much worse.:-(

[hippiechick]

16. Yikes, I was just there last weekend!

With HippieKid and a couple other friends, who rode it and didn't like it so much because it was so jarring to their necks. :(

Being the perpetual leaker I am, I watched from the sidelines. :hide:

Glad now that I did.

[Rhiannon12866]

18. Wow! You hear of these things, but never thing it'll hit so close to home.

Come to my amusement park, and bring HippieKid. Both of you will love it, very friendly, and they have an excellent safety record. I worked there for six summers, and only remember two accidents, both of them the fault of the riders. This is my favorite, the Steamin' Demon, LOL! I rode on it seven times the last time I went back there, and it's controlled by computer, no accidents, ever...:D



http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatescape/Rides/demon.html

[VolcanoJen]

28. That ride SUCKS

I only rode it once, the first season it opened. I adore coasters and couldn't wait to ride this wooden beauty.

Son of Beast tosses you around and bangs you up, and that's the fun part. Rockiest coaster ever... completely unpleasant. I left the ride with a laceration on my right arm, a bruised chest from that stupid chest restraint, and a pounding headache that ruined the rest of the day at King's Island for me.

[jseankil]

32. I really enjoy Meanstreak at Ceder Point...how does it compare? /nm

nm

[VolcanoJen]

35. Meanstreak is much gentler

So is EVERY OTHER WOODEN COASTER I HAVE EVER RIDDEN.

Son of Beast is a disaster. It's too bad.

[jobycom]

36. Ever rode any Texas coasters?

Just asking. The Rattler in San Antonio is very rough, as is the Texas Giant in Arlington. Interested in comparisons.

[VolcanoJen]

37. I haven't... but hands-down, the scariest coaster I ever rode was...

"Desperado" in Primm, Nevada, just past Las Vegas.

At one time, it was the largest coaster in the world, with a 225-foot drop. It absolutely terrified me. It was awesome.

And 1,000 times smoother than Son of Beast, too. :-)

[unda cova brutha]

40. since 2000 I have made a point to avoid anything involving Texas.

[silvermachine]

42. I hear ya....

...ditto Florida.

[jobycom]

43. Well, you just responded to a post by a Texan, so your streak is over

:hi:

I feel that way about Connecticut and WYoming, since that's where Bush and Cheney are from.

[greccogirl]

46. I'd love to

ride Beast, and son of Beast. I've got a sister who has rode both. I think though when the coasters just keep getting bigger and faster, sometimes there are going to be incidents.

I remember as kids some of the rides we rode at those country fairs - that creaked and groaned and were usually maintained by a carny bum. We still rode them though!!