Kings Island settles suit for 2006 Son of Beast accident

Wow, did you read the quote from the state inspector deposition? He sure threw the park under the bus. I'm not sure he's stating a fact there.

Of course the owners of the park in 2000 were not the same owners in 2006 when the accident happened.

Yeah, I'm curious what would've happened (as far as lawsuits) had the Paramount sale taken place 11 days later than it did.

If the inspector knew they were just 'bandaging' the ride, why did he allow it to open to the public?

Hmmm... just wondering if there is any other ride we should worry about.....Hopefully not!

I know the article doesn't say anything but does anyone know the status of SOB for the future? Are they going to attempt to open in the distant future or are they giving up all together on the ride? Do you think they might try what Six Flags did on the Texas Giant and give it a hybrid steel track? Just wondering if anyone heard anything...

SpdyChuck said:
I know the article doesn't say anything but does anyone know the status of SOB for the future? Are they going to attempt to open in the distant future or are they giving up all together on the ride? Do you think they might try what Six Flags did on the Texas Giant and give it a hybrid steel track? Just wondering if anyone heard anything...

No one knows. Lots of asking and speculating what could happen, but essentially just well wishes and best/worst case scenarios.

SOB will either do something, or possibly nothing.

I'm not sure he's stating a fact there.

Then opposing counsel should have followed up. It would be interesting to see the full deposition record to see if s/he did.

Don Helbig said last summer when talking to some coaster enthusiasts at Coasting for Kids that they will not decide what to do with SOB until after this summer is over. Maybe they were waiting for this to be over.

I don't know what their plans are. I do know this. Theres only one shot or no shots left for this ride and the only one I can see possible is the steel track which would stiffen and spread out any pressure on the structure.

The question would be, Would they give it the TNTG treatment or mearly replace track?

SpdyChuck said:
I know the article doesn't say anything but does anyone know the status of SOB for the future? Are they going to attempt to open in the distant future or are they giving up all together on the ride? Do you think they might try what Six Flags did on the Texas Giant and give it a hybrid steel track? Just wondering if anyone heard anything...

Say they did do the rockey mountain track job on son of beast. Would it be very exciting? Imo, the layout is kinda blah.

It depends on what they do with it. If they make the drop 70*, give it some double ups/downs, and bank some of the curves at 90*+, it could be a decent experience. Or they could put topper track on it, not change the layout, and the GP probably wouldn't care as long as it isn't rough.

Did it occur to anyone that they aren't doing anything with SOB because they can't do anything to it? Maybe it's currently in the status of a 'crime scene' and is required to remain that way until all the lawsuits are settled.

I doubt that very much. The thing has run quite a bit since then.

Has the ride been open to the public since the accident?

According to rcdb Son of Beast reopened from July 4, 2007 until June 2009.

Seems like I remember the '09 closure came after a lady reported being in pain two weeks after she rode. She may or may not have still been in pain two weeks later, but it took her that long to call the park. If I get it right, she may have riden during Memorial Day weekend and by the time she called and the park evaluated their choices it was June.

Correct. Son of Beast has not reopened since they closed it in June of 2009.

Last season, the sign, the rules & regulations and part of the entrance queue was missing—not just removed, but cemented over where the poles were.

For the 2010 Haunt, the SOB Station became home of "Wolf Pack" and they used the remaining queue (Past the over-pass, down near Top Gun) and ramp leading into the station for it.

Prior to queueing Wolf Pack, they took your groups picture with a backdrop and you could purchase it from the old SOB photo cart at the exit ramp. If you didn't want to purchase them that evening, you could go online and order them, which was neat.

Right, but the point is that it ran for years after the accident for which they got sued, in 2006. This was in response to the question about if they were leaving it alone to preserve evidence or something.

Yes, exactly. The July '06 accident closed the ride for the remainder of the season, but it reopened with modifications and ran all of 2007, 2008 and into 2009. Not sure if it was considered a "crime scene" since there were no fatalities, but the closure time allowed them to assess the ride and perform all inspections.