Dalton mother recounts fatal Six Flags accident, questions park safety

Yvette Hurtado and her daughter typically visit the park every Saturday. After bad weather forced the park to close over the weekend, the two rescheduled their trip for Monday, October 12.

A Dalton mother who regularly visits Six Flags Over Georgia with her 8-year-old daughter says a fatal roller coaster accident has changed the way she thinks about amusement park safety.

Yvette Hurtado and her daughter typically visit the park every Saturday. After bad weather forced the park to close over the weekend, the two rescheduled their trip for Monday, October 12.

Hurtado says she was riding another attraction when she noticed the Goliath roller coaster had stopped near the top of the track.

At first, she thought the ride had simply stalled, something she says she had seen happen before.

“I just kept hearing people saying somebody fell off the ride, and I was like, that doesn’t sound right,” Hurtado said.

After getting off her ride, Hurtado says she realized something more serious had happened. Security personnel began directing visitors out of the park.

“Security came and they were rushing everybody out. They were saying, ‘You guys need to leave the park,’” Hurtado said.

As she and her daughter made their way out, Hurtado says they witnessed the confusion surrounding the incident. She captured the moments riders were stuck mid-air, waiting to be rescued.

(CNN) — On a warm Columbus Day afternoon, with many area schools closed for Fall Break, the winding midways of Six Flags Over Georgia must hav…

“They had them up there for a very long time, and I think they were just getting everybody out one by one,” she said.

Hurtado described the scene as chaotic, with visitors unsure of what had happened.

The incident has been especially difficult for Hurtado because she had previously shared her own experience riding Goliath on TikTok. In a response to a concerned viewer, she described the roller coaster as “very secure” and said riders were not going anywhere.

Now, she says the fatal accident has left her questioning what she once believed about ride safety.

“This happens, and it just kind of makes you feel like you don’t really know what can happen,” Hurtado said.

Authorities identified the man who died as 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem. The circumstances surrounding his death remain under investigation by Cobb County police.

Hurtado says the tragedy has caused her to reconsider the risks she takes when bringing her daughter to amusement parks.

As investigators work to determine what led to the incident, Hurtado says the experience has changed how she views the rides she and her daughter once enjoyed together.

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