Incidents at Cedar Fair parks

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This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various Cedar Fair-owned theme parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.

The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a Cedar Fair park. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories:

  1. Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to break park rules.
  2. The result of a guest's known or unknown health issues.
  3. Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance.
  4. Act of God or a generic accident (eg slipping and falling), that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.

Please see the references for each listed item for specific details.

[edit] Cedar Point

[edit] Top Thrill Dragster

Main article: Top Thrill Dragster
  • On July 13, 2004, four people were injured after they were struck from pieces of metal that sheered off the coaster's launch cable during the coaster's launch sequence. The four guests were treated at the park's first aid station; two of those guests had further treatments done at a local hospital.[1]

[edit] Michigan's Adventure

[edit] Chaos

  • On July 30, 2001, the rotating portion of the Chaos ride separated from the stationary portion.[2] Of the thirty-three people on the ride, thirty-one were taken to area hospitals, most with minor injuries. An investigation put the blame on both poor maintenance which allowed bolts to loosen, twist and break; as well as on structural fatigue fractures that were discovered afterwards.[3] Following the accident, the ride, manufactured by Chance Rides, was removed from the park.

[edit] King's Island

[edit] Son of Beast

Main article: Son of Beast (roller coaster)
  • On July 9, 2006, a support timber on the wooden roller coaster cracked, resulting in the coaster's track dropping several inches. 27 riders were injured.[4] Most of the injuries were of the chest or neck. Of those injured, 17 people were released from hospitals within five hours of the accident and two were admitted. None of the injuries were life-threatening. Before the ride will open for riders again, Kings Island will dismantle the portion of the ride that had the cracked support beam for state inspection, and then will rebuild and test the new section.[5]

[edit] Valleyfair!

[edit] Wild Thing

Main article: Wild Thing (roller coaster)
  • On May 21, 2006, the back car of Wild Thing became disconnected from the rest of the train as it was nearing the station and beginning to brake at the end of the ride. A mounting bracket supporting brakes on the track had malfunctioned, damaging the rear axle of the 5th car. This caused the 6th car to break free from the train, derail, and tip over into a fence adjacent to the roller coaster, injuring 18 people. 14 of these were taken to nearby St. Francis Medical Center, but all injuries were minor and all were treated and released. The Wild Thing reopened on June 1, after a number of inspections and tests cleared it as safe to ride again.[6][7][8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Riders Injured on Top Thrill Dragster", WTOL-TV, 2004-07-13. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
  2. ^ State of Michigan (2002-02-06). Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services (CIS) Cites Mechanical Failure as Cause of Michigan Adventure's 2001 Chaos Ride Accident. Retrieved on 2006-08-02.
  3. ^ MassTort.org. Various legal documents pertaining to the Chaos incident at Michigan's Adventure, including photographs of bolts and ride diagrams from investigation.. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
  4. ^ "Son of Beast roller coaster shut down indefinitely after accident", Dayton Daily News, 2006-07-15. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
  5. ^ "Son of Beast to be partly rebuilt", The Enquirer, 2006-08-04. Retrieved on 2006-08-08.
  6. ^ KSTP-TV (2006). Valley Fair coaster accident injures 18. Retrieved on 2006-05-21.
  7. ^ KARE (2006). Inspection team determines cause of rollercoaster crash. Retrieved on 2006-05-25.
  8. ^ KARE (2006). Wild Thing reopens. Retrieved on 2006-06-01.

[edit] See also

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