Son of Beast accident at PKI sends dozens to hospital

I actually rode the SOB three times yesterday before the accident. As reported, the ride didn't open until about 1:00 pm. Virtually empty park yesterday, and the most we waited was 15-20 minutes for the back seat. My final ride on the SOB of the day was around 4:25, and the "accident" train came back in at 4:45. I was off eating pizza by then. First two rides were rough as usual, but the third ride was killer. Seriously, the shaking was really out of control on it. Felt like a punch in the gut after I got off the train. I didn't notice any additional discomfort around the loop area where the problem occurred, but it did seem like the ride was running a lot rougher. Anybody else there yesterday?

I was there yesterday, however I never made it back to Son of Beast while it was open.

I had intended to head there after riding Congo Falls but then I noticed it was 4:30 and I wanted to see the Nick parade as I had not seen that yet. So I went and rode Viking Fury then grabbed a spot by Tower to watch the parade.

As much as I am out of touch with almost everything Nick, were it not for that parade, I would have been either in line for, on, or just getting off of Son of Beast at the time.

After the parade I rode Adventure Express and Delirium and as I was exiting Delirium was when they were clearing Action Zone and just about everything in that corner of the park closed.

I was just coming around to post the same article that Jeff linked to above. It sounds like they have identified a proximate cause...

I'd say Drop Zone, Delirium, Congo Falls and Face/Off reopned about 15-30 minutes later, then by the time I waited through the Face/Off line, Top Gun had reopened.

I read in one article that "the train jolted to a halt." I read in another article that "The train came to a jolting halt and a short time later returned to the station". I can't remember what articles they were but what really happened? Is someone expanding the truth or are we playing an adult version of chinese telephone?

I say "tear it down".

The ride has been nothing but a problem since it was built. It must cost the park a fortune for upkeep on a ride like this every year.

I just wonder how much cedar fair is willing to put up with s.o.b? We all know what happend to herculies.....and that coaster was not near as bad as s.o.b.

The last time that I had been on s.o.b(about 3 years ago) I came off with blood dripping down my leg, and a migrane. These are not things that should happen to you on a rollercoaster. I would not shed a tear if it was torn down.

I was at the park when it happend and what really happend was at the loop of the coaster a peice of wood snaped causing it to move off track ride and to jump to move over to the track. The ride is closed for now and they are inspecting it now. Hopefully they will fix the peice of wood and have it up and running before the season is over. P.S. this is relly a good ride so if you get a chance check it out.*** This post was edited by christiand 7/11/2006 8:07:24 PM ***
*** This post was edited by christiand 7/11/2006 8:08:12 PM ***

Jeff posted: "More from WCPO "

Me? I was wondering HOW that bunch of kids got a TV station! ;)

Since there were no fatalities, I'll go ahead and say this....the initial Son of Beast *accident* was deciding to build this ginormous waste of wood and money in the first place. I haven't been to PKI in a few years, but I can't imnagine it's gotten THAT much better. When movie makers tell the tale of this ride, it will HAVE to star Tom Hanks and Shelley Long...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091541/

I'm no rollercoaster scientist or anything, but wouldn't hitting something or having track out-of-alignment cause drag to slow the train down enough to fail completing the circuit? I offer the Demon incident (Saint Louis?) as evidence. I know its not identical to the SOB incident, but wouldn't a train hopping the tracks have the same effect as a busted axle?

It happened after the second loop, according to the gentleman interviewed by WCPO on their 6 p.m. broadcast.

I wonder, since the ride only has one loop, if this means it didn't happen at all. ;)

But really, I wonder how much speed the coaster sustains at the end of the second double-helix?

I rode SOB for the first time on Wednesday and I didn't find it overly rough. However, the trains are utterly horrible and the restraints were just uncomfortable. Other than that, I found the ride to be somewhat boring but fairly enjoyable.

I had three rides on The Beast, but on the final ride, I thought I was having heart palpitations and was going to die. I didn't think a rollercoaster could be so rough. My other two rides were fine, though.

This is all very sad, though, for Kings Island and Cedar Fair (and, of course, the people injured). I hope they are able to quickly resolve the issues around SOB and don't have to deal with 30 lawsuits.

*** This post was edited by Infamy 7/10/2006 7:26:44 PM ***

OK... just checked out the WCPO report Jeff posted. According to them, the train stopped before the station, the report I saw said the train made it back to the station... which was it? By the way, I have had no issues on SOB, at least no more than any other wooden rollercoaster.

Since there was a train that farr up on the lift, I assume that the other train made it into the station. If it did not make it into the station, the train on the lift would have been stopped near the top of the lift by the safty block system.

SFOGswim, again, I don't have the complete set of bills yet. Because the hospital sent the bill to my insurance company, and not the local BlueCross BlueShield (it says to do so in plain English on the back of the card), I did get the ER bill for over $2,500 that was forwarded to the local insurance company. The $2,500 is before the insurance pays anything. Also, I don't have the ambulance bill or the charge for the echo cardiogram (I'll have to check to see how much of that is covered under insurance).

There's a lot of things to consider before hiring a lawyer: a) Do I have a case? b) Do I have enough money to cover attorney's fees? (maybe, but I'd be flat broke afterwards) c) Would I be allowed in this company's parks again afterwards? In other words, would I be looked at as a liability just walking into their parks?

I'm sorry that I'm not talking, but right now it's a game of wait and see.

OK, I get it now. The (c) part of your second paragraph explains what I was confused about. I didn't see how naming a coaster would not get you insurance money. It obviously had nothing to do with that.

Son of Beast comes to a complete stop on the brake run before entering the station, even if the second train has left the station and cleared the block. Riders unfamiliar with its operation could be interpreting that as something abnormal. The abrubt stop, if it happened in the station, seems to be SOP for the woodies at PKI.

The journalistic quality of the news reports in the Cincinnati media? Unfortunately, typical of the style and depth we're accustomed to around here.

Raptordude, I would suspect that the train came into the brakes before the station while the other one was still in the station - presumably loading. Then they had to empty the other loaded train, dispatch it to bring the injured in, and then stop the ride leaving the empty one on the lift.

hey guys so i was in line for the ride when it happened about 2 people away from getting on...as you knwo the ride didnt open until later becasue it didnt pass a inspection but they opened it anyway. One of the trains werent being loaded in the first place due to restarint malfunctons and they were only using two trains instead of three. When i was in line prior to the accident people were getting off the ride holding there necks and backs but the staff continued to keep it opened. This is what happened as far as the last train ride. The train left the station and they went through the circuit and so on but then they pulled and emergency stop and the staff had that weird look on there face. Then the train showed up at the station before the real station. (the matenace area or whatever) Then over the loud speaker they said they were expierencing technical difficulties and there closed for like 15 minutes. And then the staff and other workers went running to the train at the maitence area they checked people and sent the train to the station and closed the ride. On the way to the station they make a curve around the line kind of, and i saw people crying and bleeding of of the nose and mouth even some were giving the thumbs down quite grusome if you ask me. So then they closed it, and we proceeded to leave when i got to the entrance i saw other people that rode the ride before this with bloody hips and they were holfing there necks and backs. We asked a staff guy that cam out from the exit and he said that the loop cam away from the track and the train ran over it. PKI used to be a great park, but now its horrible. You wouold think if a coaster doesnt pass a inspection then you shouldnt open it but they do any way. This is horrible this park has absolutly gone down hill. the ride qqueves and park in general are full of trash even the rides have trash on them. For example.... Adventure express-disgusting! the props and tunneles are full of trash. Racer- is rough and old and they dont even run the trains together because or car malfunstions. Flight of fear they used to have a great show to really get you in the mood but now it doesnt work and its full of trash and the alien ship is ful of profanity and writing on the walls. Vortex is shaky and apprently shaking and they run a test train everyother one just to make sure its ok. The beast is abslutly horribly and give yous a horrible headache. The itallian job is not even a year old and it has trash every where Ive never seen the park this bad they really need to clean it up and "renovate the rides" this is at least how i see it. I hope my real person account gives you a grab of what happened. But im still pissed that this park is down in the sewer i hope cedar grove whips it back into shape!

I'm not sure what to say about all this ^.

But...if Son of Beast "hadn't passed inspection" for the day it wouldn't have opened. So this is not an accurate statement.

Also, doesn't this ride only run two trains, and I'm only asking on this thought?

And, jaded as it may be, just because people were coming back a little shaken up after normal (unless a problem was developing all day) rides, the staff wouldn't shut down the ride. They would be familiar with people getting off and saying they need a doctor (some are....joking) and some people getting off and loving it. On Rolling Thunder people complain all the time, but they don't shut it down.

Here is today's update from our friends at WCPO:

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/07/10/kings_island_folo.html

The main talking points in that update are:

* An interview with a person involved in the incident. (Photo shows a big bandage on this person's elbow)

* Remarks from ODA ride safety divsion. They are blaming broken, cracked or splintered wood right now, but they want to conduct a complete investigation.

* The ride has been given a "Stop order" by the state, basially ordering the park to cease operation of it until further notice

* The ride investigation is expected to take at least 6 weeks, the ride will remain closed during that time.

* After the investigation is complete, the ride will remain closed until any problems identified with the ride have been corrected.

Now some commentary:

Sunday night they said 25-27 were involved, yesterday it was down to 17, today it is back up to 31. (They said 31 of the 36 riders were injured, are they now counting injured riders in the train ahead of the incident train, as I thought the ride's trains had been shortened this year and only accomdate 30 per load.

The news media really isn't doing the park any favors, in this article they make a big deal becuase the park sent a couple empty trains shortly before the incident, and outright making the statement that the park knew something was wrong. (Besides, if there were earlier comlaints of unusual roughness, enough to warrant sending a couple ghost trains, should not they have put a ride op or maintenance person who is familiar with the ride into one of those trains to get a feel for how the ride feels) Let's not forget the ride did not open till 1:35 according to reports, those empty trains may have also been part of the usual block checks...

Then there is another article that insinuates there was an incident Saturday night around 7pm as well, with the further insinuation the park "swept it under the rug"

Living in Cincinnati, I can tell you there is a buzz starting questioning the safety of SoB in particular and PKI in general. I can't count the number of times I said "Yes, I was at the park yesterday, no I wasn't on Son of Beast" to well meaning co-workers who asked me if I was alright. I pointed out my confidence in the park to them, saying that I continued my day after the incident including several more rides on the parks other coasters.

Oh, and today's Enquirer used quotes from "Amusement Safety Organization" and their response to the incident...

Enquirer link as I don't see it posted:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060711/NEWS01/607110353

That article is also the one that has the information about a posible incident Saturday night as well.

Are they saying that the jolt occured while the train went up the 2nd hill? That's been the spot where they've had the most problems in the past, so it would make sense. If so, why did the operators think it happened going into the loop?

The operator who went to the front of the line will probably get fired for telling people that the loop seperated from the ride. Was he trying to incite a panic or just trying to scare people away from the park forever? After working at PKI from '01-'03, I sort of feel sorry for him, because he was probably the newest person on the crew and not used to the standard, "mechanical difficulties" line. And knowing the park management, he'll have to look for another job for the rest of the summer. Does he deserve it? Who knows.

BTW, SOB only runs with two trains. Also, there are only two cameras on the ride that the driver can see: top of the lift hill looking at riders coming up the lift, and at the block breaks in the middle of the ride. So there's no way that the operators could have known what happened before the riders got back into the station.

So piecing together the eyewitness evidence, here's a plausible chain of events: The 1st train hit the jolt, and the staff found out when it came back to the station. So they decided to shut down the ride and stop the 2nd train and go check on them. Maybe the 2nd train stopped at the block breaks, maybe at the ready brakes. Likely the ready brakes because if people were hurt at the block breaks, they would have sent medical personnel up there. They sent operators to check on the 2nd train while announcing that the ride would be down for 15 mins. But when the operators reached the 2nd train in the ready brakes, they realized people were really hurt.
*** This post was edited by quailroberts 7/11/2006 2:14:10 PM ***

Quail -

Your sequence of events sounds quite reasonable.

All we know for sure is the state inspectors have reported cracked or otherwise damaged wooden support beams. Furthermore the Enquirer article states it was during a drop. We have also heard some witnesses who were on the ride complain the jolt was heading into the drop before the loop.

If it happened on the drop to the loop, the train would have already passed the block brake. If that train had past the block brakes, we can be grateful that someone on the other train either complained or reported an injury, otherwise the park could have sent out another loaded train over the now damaged track.

I'd also agree it was irresponsible for that crew member to say the loop came apart from the track. I mean even if that is what happened, which it sounds like it wasn't. Just look at how many news articles (I realize most of them are fresh from the AP feeds) have cited that remark. There you have an employee of the park stating what happened as if they knew what happened. That just made Maureen's job and the rest of the PR departments job a lot harder as now they have to neutralize the damage caused by that apparently errant statement.

Why do I think the next PKI associate newsletter is going to have a refresher article on responding to guest and media inquries about ride incidents...

So spell/draw this out for me. The ride went on normal then the loop seperated from the track causing the train to cross from one section to the other over air? If the loop seperated some how would the train still go through the loop and like not hook up with the other side?

I'm so confused I need a picture or something