Man struck and killed by Raptor at Cedar Point after entering restricted area

I just can't understand why this kind of thing keeps happening. Which part of jumping a fence seems like a good idea?

I still claim it isn't by coincidence that it happens on the inverts. I think people have the mental picture of coasters "on" tracks, and they go under the tracks with the misguided belief they're safe "below" the coaster.

Awful!! Don't understand why people simply cant figure out that a train moving at any speed and weighing over 5 or 10 tons can kill them. Do people even know what tons are anymore?

I'm wracking my brain trying to think of any low-zones around Raptor that have fences less than about six feet. This had to have taken effort.

Any ideas on exactly where the incident occurred? Based on where emergency vehicles seem to be in photos I'm thinking the final helix or the base of the loop.

This would be my guess.

I can't imagine what the riders on the train experienced.

Did CP close for the night? I imagine the overall atmosphere is quite glum right now.

[IMG]It happened near the end of the ride. How did this person not hear the train coming, raptor is loud as hell?
I found this pic of it.

Even aside from the fence jumping, that doesn't really seem like an easy spot to get to. For Pete's sake!

Quick-n-dirty map:

I wish I could be more upset at someone losing their life. I'm more upset At The stupidity that Lead To It.

Sad and devastating. If I am quoting history properly, this would be Cedar Point's first ride related death. My heart sinks for the loss of life in such a terrible and avoidable manner.

Apart from losing his own life, this stupid ass has severely damaged the lives of dozens of others. His family, everyone on that train, people in the park that might have seen the incident. I don't care as much about this stupid fool as I do about the mental impact it has on everyone else. It wasn't their fault this guy was a moron, yet they have to live with vivid memories of his goring by a roller coaster train. I just feel like this story replays itself over and over. And lawyers are going to somehow mangle this incident into being the fault of Cedar Point.

Edit: I am not PC. I recognize idiocy when I see it. Is it unfortunate this person was killed? Yes. Is it his life I'm most sorry for? No. Sue me.

Just heard on our local news that he was going after his cell phone.

Well that makes sense in the world we live in now anyways. Our cell phones are our lives. I couldn't live without my cell phone!! Too early??

Common sense.....where were you today for this guy? Is it time to put razor wire on top of all the fences?

First of all, I hate this for the family of the deceased. I give my sympathies to them.

Now that that is out of the way, I feel even worse for Cedar Point. They have to deal with the negative publicity that this is going to bring them. And even though he is now dead, I am angry at the guy for being so incredibly stupid. I assume that I am not the only one who feels that way, judging by the comments here. I will refrain from saying anything else insensitive about the deceased, but I'm still thinking it.

Each time this happens -- and how sad we live in a world where there can be an "each time this happens" -- I can wrap my mind around the act of jumping over the fence. I think anyone who does that is not exercising particularly good judgement, but I can see the whole "I lost my X, oh look there it is, I shall simply scale this fence and retrieve my X" thought process.

What I just cannot understand is how can someone be that close to an operating roller coaster and not be aware of the trains on the track. It boggles my mind that someone could be that unaware of what's going on around them.

With the amount of people taking their phones out on a coaster and incidents like this, it's probably only a matter of time until most parks copy Universal and have mandatory lockers and metal detectors to not allow phones and other items taken on the ride even if they are secured.

slithernoggin said:

What I just cannot understand is how can someone be that close to an operating roller coaster and not be aware of the trains on the track. It boggles my mind that someone could be that unaware of what's going on around them.

Same here. I first posed this question in a CoasterBuzz podcast many moons ago. But when I posted about this on Facebook today, I think I finally solved it:

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1. Why do so many people jump into restricted areas?

2. Once there, how the **** do you get hit!? The coaster is on a track - a fixed course - passing at intervals.

I suppose the intellect that dictates #1 answers #2.

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Flat out, if you're dumb enough to jump the fence and get within the vicinity of a massive piece of machinery moving at high velocity, you're likely also dumb enough to not be able to avoid its systematic, purely predetermined path.

The train covers a pretty long distance in a very short time from the MCBR to the area the accident occurred. Watching the POV, it takes about ten seconds. It is reasonable for me to think that it just snuck up on the man and he didn't have much time to react.