UPDATED: Man dies after being struck by Kings Island's Banshee roller coaster in restricted area

Posted Thursday, June 20, 2024 3:47 AM | Contributed by Jeff

According to a spokesperson with Kings Island, a guest entered a restricted area around the Banshee roller coaster around 8 p.m. and was struck by the ride. Police say he was transported to a hospital, and then flown to another.

Read more from WLWT/Cincinnati.

UPDATE: The man, Arntanaro Nelson, 38, of Wilmington, Ohio, died Friday in the hospital. Read more from WLWT/Cincinatti.

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Jeff

Sunday, June 23, 2024 2:20 PM
Jeff's avatar

I can be sympathetic to his family, but what he did is a special kind of stupid. He neglected to engage in even the most modest critical thinking, and believed that some how it was OK to scale a fence with warnings all over the place. He believed the rules didn't apply to him.

A bad decision is leaving for work at the height of rush hour, or buying a McRib at McDonald's. This is in a completely different category.


Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog

+7

bigboy

Sunday, June 23, 2024 2:34 PM

I haven't seen anyone in this thread call him names. Plenty of references to his behavior being "stupid", but that isn't name calling.

To put it in terms that super7* would understand, closing a park early for low attendance and blaming it on the weather is a bad decision. Entering a restricted area under a ride to retrieve your lost keys is stupid.

Last edited by bigboy, Sunday, June 23, 2024 7:10 PM

+2

TheMillenniumRider

Sunday, June 23, 2024 2:57 PM
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It’s not a bad decision, it shouldn’t have even been a decision, it’s just something you don’t do for any reason.

Waiting for the inevitable family files suit for injury under Banshee article. Which if that happens is absolutely insane.

+1

Coasterhound36

Sunday, June 23, 2024 6:21 PM

TheMillenniumRider:

Waiting for the inevitable family files suit for injury under Banshee article. Which if that happens is absolutely insane.

What grounds would there be for a lawsuit??? Cedar Fair(soon to be Six Flags) did absolutely nothing wrong. They in no shape, fashion, or form encouraged or even permitted this individual to enter a restricted area underneath Banshee. Judges in Hamilton County will laugh in their faces.

Last edited by Coasterhound36, Sunday, June 23, 2024 6:22 PM
Are you MAN ENOUGH to ride this ride ?
+0

Tommytheduck

Sunday, June 23, 2024 6:30 PM
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If this had happened at Carowinds, the park would have closed early and that man would still be alive today!

#ClosedRidesSaveLives

+3

TheMillenniumRider

Sunday, June 23, 2024 7:13 PM
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Coasterhound36:

What grounds would there be for a lawsuit??

Not saying there is, nor should there be. The doesn’t mean they won’t try, and in doing so waste time and money which ultimately increases cost of things for everyone else.

+0

RCMAC

Sunday, June 23, 2024 7:48 PM

You can sue anybody for anything at any time. Whether it’s productive to do so is another matter.
Hamilton County is Cincinnati. Kings Island is in Mason, Ohio which is in Warren County.

+0

OhioStater

Monday, June 24, 2024 12:05 AM
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What has seemed strange is the almost complete lack of national coverage. From the park's perspective this probably isn't a bad thing, but it is weird. Even the park goers trapped upside down got a lot of play, and the Raptor incident was all over the national news for days. This incident only got a brief mention on our local news (we are in NE Ohio) the day after.

Not denying this guy's death (I'm not sure how one would survive) via the family member, but it seems equally strange that local news around Mason hasn't picked up on it as far as I can see, especially since it dominated coverage shortly after. Only some dude on Twitter named Steve Norris is reporting on it. I have no idea who he is but it seems like he is probably known down in the Cincy area.

Also, when you visit Patricia Thomas' (the woman consistently linked to the news of the man's death) actual Facebook page, there is no post about anyone related to her passing. Her last post in on June 16th wishing her family members a happy Fathers Day. Maybe people living closer to KI are experiencing different news.

Last edited by OhioStater, Monday, June 24, 2024 12:58 AM

Promoter of fog.

+0

Sarobia White Sr

Monday, June 24, 2024 2:15 PM

Man struck by Kings Island roller coaster last week has died

Last edited by Sarobia White Sr, Monday, June 24, 2024 2:18 PM
+0

RCMAC

Monday, June 24, 2024 2:31 PM

That’s awful, and I’m so sorry. When anything like that happens, it (no matter who’s at fault) puts a lasting blemish on everything.

+1

The_Orient_of_Express

Monday, June 24, 2024 2:58 PM

Wow. Horrible. Yea. Puzzling lack of national media attention. Maybe they will latch on now since the man has passed away.

Last edited by The_Orient_of_Express, Monday, June 24, 2024 2:58 PM
+0

Schwarzkopf76

Monday, June 24, 2024 3:10 PM
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When this happened years ago (I think in Georgia), the person in the train also broke their leg. I wonder if there were any other injuries?

I still think this ride needs deep magenta with fog light show. Just think of the boost to such a plain ride (sorry Banshee fans).

+0

Shades

Monday, June 24, 2024 3:44 PM

Apparently rollercoasters do not have a monopoly on stupidity

+0

The_Orient_of_Express

Monday, June 24, 2024 3:59 PM

Shades:

Apparently rollercoasters do not have a monopoly on stupidity

Wow. I don’t get it? What’s the point of doing that and risking your life? The pic would be just as good in front of the barrier.

+0

99er

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 3:46 AM
99er's avatar

OhioStater:

What has seemed strange is the almost complete lack of national coverage.

Considering something normal like a lift stop on a coaster can become a national story, it is odd nobody has picked this up beyond local news.


-Chris

+1

hambone

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 1:39 PM
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The_Orient_of_Express:

I don’t get it? What’s the point of doing that and risking your life?

I have a photo of myself on a precarious ledge at the Grand Canyon, with a drop of far enough to kill me. It makes me sick to my stomach to look at it now. When I was young and dumb, I was young and dumb.

In my defense, there were no physical barriers to hop, just the extremely low barrier of a 22-year's brain.

+0

Brian Noble

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 5:51 PM

We hiked Devil's Bridge when we visited Sedona. Everyone else in my family walked right up and sat down on the edge for a photo, while I stayed right smack in the middle of the arch, becuase I was NOT doing that.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/rec...ecid=55292

One of those people was someone afraid of roller coasters (!) I asked her later why she walked right up to the edge of a 50' drop on a sandstone arch, when she refused to get on Millennium Force. "It was perfectly safe."

I later decided it was the (illusion of) control. She thought falling (or not falling) was something she could control on the arch, while it is not something she can control on the coaster. On the other hand, I know that I'm an idiot and incapable of keeping myself safe, while rides are over-engineered for safety.


+9

Bakeman31092

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 6:11 PM
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I think that's why people have a fear of flying yet have no fear of driving, even though the latter is far more dangerous, statistically.


+8

Brian Noble

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 6:39 PM

I've had that conversation more than once. It turns out "You're more likely to die driving to the airport" is not the comfort I assumed it was. ;-)


+5

The_Orient_of_Express

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 6:49 PM

Yea. I’m more afraid of water slides than roller coasters. Because I feel like there’s always a certain unpredictability with a water ride, as opposed to a ride on a track.

+1

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