Where do you think is most likely to be the roller coaster of death?”
1989 Sunday, April 30, 1989 – A 6-year-old boy died in an accident in Farmington, Utah after being struck by a roller coaster car which he had fallen from. The boy attempted to vacate his compartment after the ride had come to a stop past the normal boarding area. The operator decided to send the train around the track again, and as the ride restarted, the boy fell to the ground, which was less than four feet beneath the track. He climbed back up through the track and was struck by the car as it returned. Apparently, the operator could not have stopped the ride once the train had reached the top of the incline, as the ride was gravity-driven. Sunday, June 9, 1989 – In an accident in Farmington, Utah, a 13-year-old girl was killed in a 40-foot fall from a roller coaster. 1994 Saturday, May 28, 1994 – A 14-year-old boy died after riding a roller coaster at an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. 1995 Friday, June 30, 1995 – At Worlds of Fun amusement park in Kansas City, Missouri, a 14-year
Take a quick look at Americas favorite ride … to the death. The first ride many flock to in most amusement parks is the roller coaster. With years of research and safety precautions these rides can still be very dangerous and even deadly. Injuries, deaths and dismemberments abound in the sordid past of Americas favorite ride. Many love this ride because for its speed, turns, hills, barrel rolls, loops, corkscrews and drops. Roller coaster enthusiasts demand bigger, longer and faster trips with every new roller coaster built, yet injuries and deaths abound in the amusement rides past. Did you know? Roller Coasters history began in the 17th century with Russian ice slides. The “Aerial Walk” was the first coaster that had locking wheels on steel tracks. Frascati Gardens in Paris, France built the first looping roller coaster. In 1878 the first patent was awarded to Richard Knudson for a coaster like invention, an “Inclined Railway” system. In the 20’s estimates claim between 1,500 and 2,0
