Man dies after ride on Stardust Racers at Epic Universe

^ That looks to me more like an on-ride photo that never got implemented. I'm not sure what the value would be in placing a camera pointing specifically at that piece of track.

Like Rick said, most if not all coasters have cameras pointed at lift hills, brake runs, launches, etc. That's where you gotta check to see where trains are located in the event of a stoppage, as well as check for guests with cameras going up lifts. I don't believe it's widespread practice to have thorough camera coverage on the rest of the course.

The final report from Orange County Sheriff's Office is now available here - https://www.scribd.com/docu...from_embed

That's a pretty disturbing read, my condolences to his family and friends.

It appears the point of failure was the gentleman's femurs breaking, probably at the first ejector over the tophat. This allowed his torso to rise further than it should have in the seat, since there was a new pivot point at the break, and this rise was what caused him to be able to reach and strike the lapbar with his head.

I had never really thought of the forces applied on human bones during rides. I'm sure the engineers are aware, and I wonder what the upper limit is for any given element, when the restraints are relying on bones for leverage. Many people have brittle bones, and may not be aware of risks of breakage.

Couple that with having broken his femur in the past. A horrible tragedy in any regard but I would say that Universal is clearly not at fault.

metallik:

That's a pretty disturbing read

Thanks for the warning and the summery. I've realized over the last several years that I do not enjoy reading disturbing things based on reality.

This report explains the new rules. Femurs are usually incredibly strong and require immense forces to break. The two things that weaken them making a break more likely are diseases (like metastatic cancer or the number one cause osteoporosis) or lack of use.

The femurs get their strength from constantly having to bear the entire weight of your body when walking, if they don’t get that stress they will weaken over time, walking to the platform unassisted proves you can walk and likely do walk on a regular basis thus providing that stress that will keep your femurs strong.

Even so what a horrible bit of bad luck to have this happen, with that new pivot point, his head bashed the lap bar multiple times. Completely a “freak accident” only made possible by a medical condition of the rider.