Reason #4873 to be Afraid of Roller Coasters

June 29, 2008 - 3:00 pm By Jess - NYU

batman1.jpgI’m not the biggest fan of roller coasters. Something about the feeling that my stomach is about to shove its way into my throat is just really off-putting. Plus, remember that story about Fabio getting slammed in the face by a bird? I mean, it could happen to any one of us.

Since I’m already iffy about the whole thing, it’s not like I need another reason to be freaked out by these fear contraptions. But this story is freaky enough to possibly keep even the roller-coaster obsessed away for a little while.

Yesterday, a 17-year-old South Carolina boy was decapitated by the “Batman the Ride” coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Apparently, he and a friend jumped two fences and sped past multiple “Do Not Enter” signs in an attempt to get on the ride, and when the coaster came speeding by, 17-year-old Asia Leeshawn Ferguson was struck.

The article goes on to say that this is not the first time “Batman the Ride” has offed someone. Six years ago, a Six Flags park worker died when he was struck in the head by a girl in the first car of the coaster.

Now, should you be afraid of imminent death every time you get in line for that newest, upside down corkscrew roller coaster? Probably not. But should all my friends stop laughing at my reluctance to get on one of them? Yes. Safety first, people. Safety first.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a bike helmet to put on before going to the grocery store.

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12 Comments on "Reason #4873 to be Afraid of Roller Coasters"

  1. Cath says:
    Sun, 29th Jun 20083:46 pm 

    I get why roller coasters can be scary…but that story doesn’t really support your fear. Neither of those people were hurt while riding the ride (I realize people have been hurt that way though). There is a reason they have those “do not enter” signs.

  2. Spyderman says:
    Sun, 29th Jun 20084:13 pm 

    Somewhere there is a lawyer trying to spin this so they can represent the parents and sue Six Flags. Count on it. If he had been Spanish, sue because the warning signs were not in Spanish. That idea seems to have fallen through, judging by his name. Maybe sue his teacher and the school system, because he could not read well? And sue Six Flags, because there were not signs posted of people being decapitated? Somewhere, the wheels are turning.

  3. Wham says:
    Sun, 29th Jun 20085:21 pm 

    This isn’t exactly the rides fault.

    Anyone who’s intelligent enough to hear, see, and feel (the wind rushing around) would be smart enough to at least move out of the way OR duck.

    Climbing over two fences that have warning signs posted on them and then standing infront of a moving rollercoaster pretty much constitutes death.

    I feel bad for the kid for whatever reason he was standing under there, but you’ve got to wonder what they were thinking, it’s not like standing infront of a flying pillow obviously. I’ve ridden that ride multiple times, though it’s been a while I don’t quite remember it going wuite low enough to hit someone on the ground, but oh well.

    This is obviously a parent or learning problem, it’s kind of like don’t run out into a road period, especially with cars going 50-60 mph speeding around.

    Or maybe look both ways kids.

    17 is much more than enough life experience to know better, actually any age is.

    I know next time I go to six flags I’ll be riding that ride, hopefully this can be a warning to all the other teenagers out there that are planning to play underneath the rollercoasters.

  4. brooklynbaby347 says:
    Sun, 29th Jun 20087:59 pm 

    Anyone should be smart enough not to enter a DO NOT ENTER sign MULTIPLE times. Warning colors aside, I wouldn’t care if the damn kid could read or not. People were waiting on the line for a reason, stop being a rushing greedy ass and wait like everyone else. Sounds harsh, I know, but geez. Just…no. I want to say “good for him,” but…you shouldn’t have done that.

  5. Beth says:
    Sun, 29th Jun 20088:31 pm 

    hmmm… I’ve been debating whether or not to post this comment and risk sounding like a totally insensitive bitch… but judging by the other comments I’m gonna go ahead and do it…

    This is just a perfect example of “survival of the fittest” one less idiot in the world to breed and contaminate the gene pool…

    Don’t get me wrong, I feel absolutely HORRIBLE for the family and friends of this kid, and sickened for the people unfortunate enough to see this go down, It’s a horrible tragedy but come ON… Darwin would be proud… They have MULTIPLE signs on that ride, and MULTIPLE fences to protect the public from incidents such as this! This is a perfect example of the “me first” mentality that is running rampant in our nation’s youth… Had he not been so eager to get on the ride, or make it into the park before the crowd, or even trying to get his hat like some other articles suggested, this NEVER would have happened…

    Is a 30 dollar hat, or half an hour saved truly worth a human life??? I think not… Let this be a lesson to everyone else.

  6. laura says:
    Sun, 29th Jun 200811:11 pm 

    The only thing that really pissed me off about this article was the grandmother who died while strapping her 4 year old grandson into the seat of a ride. The ride started before she was out of the way and struck her in the head.

    That wasn’t her fault. Six Flags should be more careful. This death trend isn’t becoming to them.

  7. Sarah says:
    Mon, 30th Jun 20085:27 am 

    Wasn’t this the same theme park that cut a 14 year old girls legs off by accident on a ride?

  8. asshole says:
    Mon, 30th Jun 200811:05 am 

    Darwin at work.

  9. Casey says:
    Tue, 1st Jul 200812:11 am 

    beth i totally agree with you. It’s unfortunate, but the kid shouldn’t have been such a greedy little asshole. If you want to ignore signs and jump fences and be where you KNOW you shouldn’t be then sorry, you get what you deserve.

  10. Suzie - George Washington says:
    Tue, 1st Jul 200810:40 pm 

    Since when does ignoring a sign and jumping a few fences warrant decapitation?

  11. Anne says:
    Wed, 30th Jul 20086:57 pm 

    It does not make me scared of roller coasters since the kid wasn’t actually on the ride but instead ignored warning signs not to enter. It is a VERY sad and unfortunate situation but the kid should have had enough common sense to realize he was too close to the coaster and that something bad could happen. SUZIE-GEOREGE WASHINGTON, ignoring a sign and jumping fences does not warrant decapitation however anyone with common sense would know better that getting that close to the coaster could in fact have a very high risk factor.

  12. JFred says:
    Mon, 18th Aug 20084:07 pm 

    It is possible the kid was retarded or had vision problems. Safety has to take account for the handicapped. This would also make things safer for the drunk and the stoned.

    And let’s admit it, some people at amusement parks are drunk or stoned. And bringing your developmentally disabled kid, or kid brother, to the park shouldn’t kill him.

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