ATLANTA — The Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia had reportedly been taken out of service for maintenance just hours before a teacher was thrown from the ride and died, eyewitnesses said.
Hassan Kariem, a 42-year-old teacher, was killed shortly before 4 p.m. Monday after he was ejected from the high-speed hypercoaster at the amusement park near Atlanta.
Two teachers visiting the park that afternoon told The Post they attempted to ride Goliath at about 1 p.m., but employees told them the attraction was temporarily closed for maintenance.
The teachers said they watched a park employee carry out a test run alone in one of the coaster cars. They recalled joking that riding by himself appeared to be a “scary job.”
Tina Christiansen, a 29-year-old high school teacher, said an announcement first informed guests that the ride was experiencing delays. Minutes later, another announcement said staff were waiting for maintenance workers to arrive.
Her friend Emily Nguyen, 30, who teaches at a middle school, said park employees later told them they were performing “a couple of maintenance runs.”
“One guy rode it and he was in the front row by himself,” Nguyen told The Post. “I remember us looking at each other, like, you could not pay me enough to do that job.”
“It’s fun to ride roller coasters, but I wouldn’t want to be responsible for making sure they’re working properly. We literally had that conversation.”
Christiansen and Nguyen later returned to the attraction, only to find the Goliath area surrounded by a crowd and closed to guests.
Nguyen said she approached a security guard and asked what had happened, assuming the closure might be minor.
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“He was like, ‘I can’t tell you,’ and I realized it must be something really serious for him to say it like that,” she said, describing the guard’s tone as “very gruff.”
The two friends said they saw people crying and ambulances arriving. Another park visitor then told them the amusement park was being evacuated because someone had fallen from Goliath.
“I feel like we dodged a bullet by not being anywhere near when it happened, especially since that’s where we were going,” Nguyen said. She added that they later realized they had taken a selfie near the location where Kariem is believed to have fallen.
Passengers who rode Goliath on Tuesday said they heard unusual clicking sounds and watched employees inspect their restraints several times before the deadly incident.
A woman who was riding in the car told WSB-TV that the restraint appeared to repeatedly unlock and lock. She said she later saw Kariem fly from his seat.
“Every time it would click they would come by and push down on the restraint,” her male companion told the station, saying staff checked the safety bars “three and four times.”
Following the accident, Six Flags also closed nine roller coasters at six other parks, saying the precaution was taken “out of an abundance of caution.”
The Cobb County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit announced Tuesday that it was investigating Kariem’s death.
Georgia’s Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, the agency responsible for overseeing amusement ride safety in the state, said it was also “actively investigating” the incident.
Asked about the accounts from Christiansen and Nguyen, a Six Flags Over Georgia spokesperson said, “The safety of our guests and associates is our highest priority.”
“While we are unable to comment on specifics related to the incident or currently closed rides at this time, we are committed to rigorous ride inspection, maintenance and safety procedures that meet or exceed industry standards.”
