Man dies after falling off Superman at Six Flags New England

From a friend who was in line at the time of the incident:

It happened on the very last turn into the final brake run and the man was ejected into the fence on the other side of the maintanance road.

Very sad to hear this.

To whoever went on that hating rampage, shut the hell up.

I'm sorry but please. This is an awful thing that happened and blaming the victim is not the way to go. The man who was overweight on SFDL's Superman was ALLOWED to ride. The same goes for the Perilous Plunge incident. This new incident is a whole different situation. Unless the riders in all situations had done something to relieve themselves of the restraints, they are innocent.

I think a*sholes like you are the ones that shouldn't be allowed on the rides.

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I don't know why but this incident is really hitting me emotionally. Although I've been saddened by the past deaths at amusement parks, this one is really making me uncomfortable. I can't explain it.

To whoever might know. Do the bent bars (TTD) feel more secure than the T-bar (S:ROS). Just curious.

*** This post was edited by rentzy17 5/2/2004 12:52:15 PM ***

SFGAdvLover- Of course SFDL's S:RoS was closed. The park doesn't open till next week. ;)

This is terrible news. Has there been any link to the Perilous Plunge accidents, the SFDL Superman fall, and now this? Is it really the T-bars? I guess it's hard for me to understand how this can happen when hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of rides are given on these things every season, then the random accident happens. Was the restraint faulty? If it's the same setup as on TTD, that's unlikely. It has fail safes on top of fail safes. I know at SFDL they didn't have seatbelts at the time. But would that have kept that man in his seat? And now, this poor soul falls out of (in all honesty) a well designed restraint, and a seat belt? I'm not being hard here, I just don't understand. Hopefully Intamin and/or SF can figure out what happened and correct the problem.

Personally, I think Intamin's reputation has taken a beating lately. Are they innovative? Yes. Do they build incredible rides like no one else? Absolutely. Do they often require additional engineering (Impulses, seatbelts, Xcellerator's extra supports, TTD's problems)? Oh yeah... And most importantly, are they safe rides? As much as I love Intamin's rides, I'm starting to lean towards a resounding "NO" on that one. Hopefully with more info on all of the accidents it will be learned that the rides aren't at fault, but again that won't bring this man back...*** This post was edited by ShaneDenmark 5/2/2004 2:48:58 PM ***

I feel the same way ShaneDenmark.

I LOVE Intamin's rides. They are by far the most thrilling in the industry. However with the recent incidents even I'm not feeling they are so safe.

How erie is it that the random picture that popped up when I logged on was S:ROS at Darien Lake? I totally disagree that mentally challenged/physically challenged people shouldn't be able to ride. They paid as much as you did to get into the park, and therefore I think they should have as much access to the facilities as able-bodied people. The question that everyone wants answered is how thousands of people have gotten off of these rides alive and unharmed, and a few haven't. I'm all for modification at this point. It could be one of us the next time.

Intamin Fan, I agree with you to a pont, but there does become a point where a person that is mentally challenged/physically challenged can not ride a ride. If I have no control over my legs or arms I shouldn' be able to ride, am I the lone man that feels this way?

Given the relatively small number of rides with the Intamin straight T-bar restraints, and the number of ejection incidents that have occurred, it's clear that it's time for a review of the safety of these restraints. It may also be time for a review of the Intamin brake designs. While I love Intamin's rides, the number incidents has been disproportionately high. It could be just a statistical cluster, but it is a large enough cluster to be worth further, detailed review.

I thought the brake design had already been changed following the last accident?

Also, the problem isn't only straight T-bar restraints, is it? Hydro has curved T-bars.

CoasterBGW and the guy with no name - no you're not the only ones that feel that way, but just back off on this site about it. You're just going to get attacked and beaten down by the boohooers, no matter how much logical sense your ideas make. In the land of the free and the home of the lawyers, you'll never get rules preventing some people from riding like that, as much sense as it does make. You're not alone, but this isn't the place to express that opinion, listen to experience ;)

Hey, if it's comfortable... I'm all for new restraints.

I just hope that if they decide on new restraints similar to Top Thrill Dragster won't ruin any pops of air-time that you can currently get on the current Intamins.
But I know that if I got a little too much room between me & the lap-bar as I head up the hill & I'm in the back... I get a little nervous & close that restraing all-that much closer because it gets a little un-nerving for a restraint that small & simple... I wonder how in the world they could have operated w/out seatbelts, if it was opened for a couple weeks w/out them before the obese fellow from SFDL fell out. It musta been a little weird to notice you have nothing to really hold you in at 200+ feet with their train style except a little restraint.

Hey Impulse-ive, I'm all for restrictions. That's fine with me. The fact is that all of these victims were ALLOWED to ride because the park determined they were ABLE to.

Call me a boohooer if you want, but don't say the people who are overwieght and have other dissabilities "ruin" it for the normal people. They were allowed on the ride. It's not their fault. Whoever is to blame it's NOT them.

To the "nameless" poster above........sounds like YOU have some serious issues of your own to deal with first before you go off like that. Maybe you are nameless for a reason. Afraid of the backlash that would hit you?

Comparing yourself not being able to play in the NBA or not being a Royal family member is probably the silliest comparison to this incident that I could ever think of. SO you can't play in the NBA, big deal.but what you can do is play basketball at the local gym. Can't be a member of the Royal family?? Then treat YOUR family as if they are royalty, but to go off like you did was TOTALLY and COMPLETELY inconsiderate both in general and on this post.

This gentleman wanted to ride a coaster, and he did. Apparently he he has ridden it before. Something tragic resulted. Can't you accept that? He had as much right as anyone to ride. You really think that people with disabilities shouldn't have to go to the front of the line and "inconvenience" you?? Try living just one day in the shoes of someone like this person. Maybe then you would be a little more considerate and understanding.

'Nuff said.

Impulse-ive said: In the land of the free and the home of the lawyers, you'll never get rules preventing some people from riding like that, as much sense as it does make.

It could and should pass. If they took alook back at some of these accident's that have occurred they would see that this needs to be addressed. There are currently signs that state that people with certain conditions such as neck injuries, heart problems, or women who our pregnant, etc should not ride. Certain handicaps should also be included within that list.

Back in May of 2002 a mentally challenged person was killed at Six Flags Elitch Gardens on there Rainbow ride because he had worked his way out of the restraint. This accident could have been prevented had this man not been on the ride or was better supervised by someone in the group that he was there with.[ http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/1482042/detail.html ]

If this recent accident does turn out to be the rider's fault something needs to be done from allowing people who are handicapped onto these type of thrill rides without some type of supervision. Not just for there safety but for the safety of those other individual's who are on the ride with them.

*** This post was edited by CalvinJ23 5/2/2004 6:37:51 PM ***

I don't know anything specific about this case, what happened, etc., but I agree with the 'nameless' poster above. If somebody is handicapped, then that means you are not able to do some things. If you're extremely overweight, or you're really not sound in the mind, then you shouldn't be able to ride certain rides. If I remember correctly, the accident that happened on Perilous Plunge was because someone was extremely large and were not properly restrained.

Again, this might not have anything to do with this case, because as I said, I don't know what really happened. I am sorry if I went off topic a bit.

Superman: Ride of Steel at SNFE is the greatest roller coaster ever and I hope it continues operation and I am able to ride it this summer.

Most of the ejection accidents could be prevented if people hold on to the assist handles and keep their feet flat on the floor. That puts you in the proper position for the restraint to work as designed, and just holding on to something in the car will keep you in the car. We are all guilty of raising our hands while riding. It's important to respect the ride though, I only raise my hands after riding a ride for a while and becoming comfortable with knowing how the ride dynamics throw me around. For example, on CP's TTD, I'm always holding on to the bar on the way down. There seems to be some weightlessness in the spiral, coupled with some lateral force. I'm not comfortable with only the lap bar holding me in at the point.

People leaning out over the side of the car with their hands up, people slouching intentionally or unintentionally when the restraints are lowered, and people lowering their knees by putting their feet out of position can all be potentially dangerous.

Many people have a belief that restraints are perfect, and they can do what they want and still remain safe. This obviously isn't always true. I don't see anything at all wrong with the design of the Intamin restraint if people keep their bodies in the correct position. It is unfortunate that some handicapped people may not have the physical characteristics to do this on a ride. I totally agree that those people shouldn't be allowed to ride for safety reasons. We all need to play the hand we are dealt with in life. If you can't ride a roller coaster in a park, there are a lot of other ways to enjoy yourself while visiting.

Hi all 1st of all I am not nameless, my name is Dave.. I signed the bottom of the email.. 2nd I just signed up so I guess that is why my name didn’t show up on the top left.

To start, I don’t hate anyone rentzy17; This is what most ignorant people say when they have no substance to offer worth mentioning. You show your age when you write comments like that. Lean about life and talk to us then. I made it clear that I don’t wish anyone ill will except that we are all born the way we are born and so be it. Remember rentzy17 children should be seen, not heard.

Next... to Volleyguy, sorry you don’t understand analogies to the way things are. No one has a "right" to anything in a privately owned company. We get privileges once we’ve paid the admission the company asks for. Then we are to adhere to the rules in which that company sets for us to abide by. Don’t insult me with “ I have issues” because you want to save the world. Go join the Peace Corps and put your money where your mouth is. These parks are built, structured, and designed for people of certain heights and weights. They are also designed for people who can function without aid both physically and mentally. It is our dollars that fund these parks, not the mentally and physically challenged; they are the beneficiaries of our paid park dollars. We pay higher admission fees, merchandise, and food prices so parks can build special access ramps, special seating, bathrooms, and waiting areas for less than .1% of the park going population. We as a society have bent over backwards for all types of people from all walks of life; so most people can do everything they wish. That is fine but in this case, certain people just cant ride coasters and thrill rides. Bottom line. If parks had rules that prohibited these types of people from riding, think of all the live that would have been “saved”. We cant blame parks because we the get these liberal save the world people making them allow people on rides they would normally never allow. If you cant walk onto a ride by yourself and belt yourself in, then you should not be allowed to ride, plain and simple. I am tired too of reading stories about overweight people popping out of rides because they max out the safety devices set in place for the 99.9% of the people that it was designed for. I’d love to eat everything under the sun, but I don’t because I don’t want to gain weight. However, because we don’t want to offend anyone we have to watch some woman whose stomach is bigger than her boobs have 2 ride attendants help each other secure 2 straps to a clip so she can ride a coaster. Or some guy who has more rolls than a bakery have 3 attendants all pushing on each other to force down the overhead harness ( which pops out a corndog) so he can ride a coaster. Or worse yet, we all wait 5 minutes and have our bars set and reset 3 or 4 times and then watch an embarrassed overweight person get removed from a ride because they are told they are too big to ride. I am sorry to those who don’t understand this, but unless you are going to reply with logic and intelligence don’t smear me or others with name calling and insults because you either disagree or don’t like what you read. In the end if it were not for most of our park dollars, there wouldn’t be any coasters for these people to even fall out of because the parks wouldn’t exist. Moreover, that may be next, just like skiing.. A day pass is through the roof because of high insurance… watch what happens to to theme parks next once these ambulance chasers keep winning in court because we want “everyone to have the “right” to go on all rides at all parks”. You better start saving your penny's now!! You'll have to remortgage your house to get into a park soon enough.

The only way to be fair to all able bodied and disabled people is to never build the ride to begin with. This is the only situation that is equal to everyone. WE ALL CANNOT RIDE. There has to be a limit. A paraplegic will not be able to keep himself safely in some rides no matter the restraints utilized. A person with no arms and legs may have problems too. And so on and so forth…

It is insane that those with the holier than though attitude cannot see that there is indeed a physical limitation threshold at which a person’s disability would mandate that it is not safe to ride. The park should dictate this determination. This is only common sense. Unfortunately, we’ve lost all common sense in this society. Like it or not, the disabled and able-bodied have differences that cannot be ignored. The so called caring individuals who passed laws that have lead us to a point in society in which we are unable to even ask a person about a disability ought to feel real good about themselves. Too bad their actions can and often do lead to outcomes that are not nearly as nice as intended. Those of us who speak up about these problems are shouted down as mean spirited. Who isn’t for the disabled, or better yet, the “big-boned?” We’ve reached a point in society that we cannot freely and openly discuss obvious physical differences without a large percentage feigning that they’re offended.

In our lawsuit happy society we are heading toward a day when no company would ever take the risk of building amusement rides. The liability is just too much. You can’t exclude, or even ask somebody about a disability that could affect their own safety, yet the same company will have to pay the piper when an inevitable accident happens.

If it is determined that an individuals disability did indeed have a part in the terrible tragedy, there is no way the park should be held responsible. It is a common sense fairness that would indicate that you can not on one hand mandate that the park is not allowed to discriminate (or even ask questions) against a disabled guest by refusing ridership, even if it is for the riders own good, while at the same time holding the park responsible for an accident that the park easily could have prevented had the unreasonable mandate not been present in the first place. What is the park to do (except of course never build an amusement ride to begin with)? Most of you have concentrated on the restraint design, which may indeed be flawed. If this is the case, then liability is obvious. The other issue may be the inability of the park to refuse ridership to those patrons that they know cannot safely utilize their product. An unreasonable law legally restrains them. Who is liable then? It certainly should not be the park.

Does anybody really think Christopher Reeves ought to be riding coasters? Before you answer that, make sure you are not being too insensitive. Everybody should have the opportunity to ride if they pay their money. Right?

I fully expect the hate speech attacking my position. I’m a big meanie, etc… Spare me! Every intellectually honest individual knows we’ve gone too far in this society.

I don't get it. You can ride that thing with the lap bar up on that curve and all he G's are going to keep you in.

Wow - I didn't know there was that much support for that viewpoint. All of a sudden I feel among friends, not enemies ;)

I agree wholheartedly with what you are all saying, and have said it before (only to be viciously and ruthlessly shot down and torn apart for my "insensitivity" and even told that I'm one step above the spawn of satan, or something to that extent). I think though, and maybe I'm just being too hopeful, that there is a growing trend-reversal towards personal responsibility. I know that a few of these "sue McDonald's cause the coffee's hot" type cases have been thrown out, and I think more and more judges and juries are becoming more aware of the fact that their actions are causing America to come to a standstill because the apparent lack of personal responsibility that is protected by law makes any kind of good or service not worth the effort or expense.

Who knows if we'll see any kind of backlash from this or not. I think one of the surest signs will be if Millennium Force opens this weekend or not (since it was sited as having similar restraints). I sincerely hope it does, cause call me callous, call me insensitive, call me politically incorrect, or the spawn of satan, I don't care, it really annoys me when some guy who shouldn't have been on the coaster in the first place dies, and that denies me the ability to ride one of my favorite rides. boo-friggidy-hoo.