Six Flags Magic Mountain shuts down second coaster, other rides amid safety concerns

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Six Flags is closing several rides across the U.S. and Canada — including the Goliath rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia — after a death at one of its parks in Georgia.

Park officials said the closures were out of an abundance of caution and that they were temporary.

One person died and multiple others were injured Monday at Six Flags over Georgia, Lisa N. Cupid, chairwoman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners said in a statement.

Georgia authorities have not said how the person died, but the park closed the Goliath roller coaster after the fatal incident. Witnesses told WXIA, a local news affiliate, that a passenger on the ride was ejected from one of its cars.

“I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” Cupid said. “Additional information will be released by law enforcement as it is confirmed.”

Cobb County police officers, she said, “responded immediately” and that detectives with the major crimes unit were investigating. The park is in the Atlanta suburb of Austell, Ga.

Six Flags announced this week that, in addition to the Goliath, it had closed the following similar rides:

Six Flags celebrated the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Goliath roller coaster in Georgia earlier this year. It is described on the park’s website as “an intense 70-mile-per-hour thrill ride” that reaches 200 feet in height.

The nationwide closures come weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain’s famous X2 roller-coaster ride was permanently closed in September following a history of injuries, including some that led to deaths.

The ride was first closed temporarily in July following reports of back-to-back brain injuries. Months after the ride, first called X, opened in 2002, it had to be closed to repair design flaws. Then, in 2007, it was closed again to replace the trains with lighter ones and reopened the next year as X2. It has long been one of the park’s main attractions, featuring seats that spin forward and backward 360 degrees. More than 16 million people have ridden X2, Magic Mountain said in its statement.

X2 had long been hailed by ride enthusiasts for its design. The seats are on the side of the track, allowing riders’ feet to dangle below or above them as their seat spins forward or backward. At the beginning, riders are taken up a slope while facing backward and, at the peak, their seats spin forward as they hurtle toward the ground headfirst.

“While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do,” Brian Oerding, Six Flags Magic Mountain president, said in a statement in September. “Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”

Hailey Branson-Potts is a general assignment reporter who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2011. She reports on a wide range of issues and people, with a special focus on rural communities. She grew up in the small town of Perry, Okla., and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.

Fedor Zarkhin is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. He joined its Fast Break team from the Oregonian, in Portland, Ore., and previously worked at the Palm Beach Post. Zarkhin welcomes tips for watchdog and human interest stories at (213) 572-7584 via call, text or on WhatsApp and Signal. You can also pitch stories or send him records via email at fedor.zarkhin@latimes.com.

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