Goliath's fatal fall: what riders heard, and what Georgia's inspectors found

Goliath's fatal fall: what riders heard, and what Georgia's inspectors found

A fatal ejection at Six Flags Over Georgia

A guest was thrown from the "Goliath" hypercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia shortly before 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, and fell to his death, while four other parkgoers were injured. The park sits about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County. Police said officers called to the scene at about 3:58 p.m. found the man "unresponsive and not breathing" beneath the attraction; witnesses said he struck other guests on the way down before landing.

The victim: a 12-year educator and robotics coach

Cobb County police identified the victim on Tuesday as Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, of Atlanta. He worked for Atlanta Public Schools at Wesley International Academy, a K-8 charter school, for more than 12 years — as a technology teacher from July 2014, then IT manager from 2023, and as a robotics coach. The school called him a beloved colleague and "an integral part of the Wesley family." Relatives told media he had beaten cancer twice. His sister, Andrea Clark, told the New York Post the family could not understand how he escaped so much only to die at an amusement park.

Police: ejected, then struck other riders

The Cobb County Police Department's Major Crimes Unit is leading the criminal investigation. "Preliminary information gathered through witness and employee interviews indicates Kariem was ejected from the ride and struck other patrons before falling beneath the attraction," police said in a statement. Police said four injured minors were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and that no further details would be released because they are juveniles. Georgia's Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (OCI) is investigating in parallel.

Georgia says its March inspection found no violations

Commissioner John F. King said Thursday that Goliath's most recent state inspection was completed on March 16, 2026, with "no violations, deficiencies, citations, or red tags" reported. As part of the inquiry, OCI is conducting a full review of the ride's inspection, permitting and incident records. The coaster will stay closed until the investigation is finished, King said, adding that his team has been "on the ground working day and night."

Riders describe clicking restraints

Several passengers described anomalies. One woman told WSB-TV the lap bar "would unlock and lock, unlock and lock," drawing repeated staff checks. Rider Logan Conner said the man "started levitating in the air sideways." Summer Bates, who rode the coaster, told the Associated Press the restraint "just didn't feel secure and tight."

The ride was down for maintenance hours earlier

The New York Post interviewed two teachers who tried to board Goliath at around 1 p.m. the same day and said they were told it was closed for maintenance — meaning the coaster had been taken out of service hours before the fatal fall. Other witnesses said they saw staff working on safety equipment. Six Flags said it was "unable to comment on specifics related to the incident or currently closed rides," adding that it is "committed to rigorous ride inspection, maintenance and safety procedures that meet or exceed industry standards."

A former operator calls Goliath 'incredibly safe'

A former Six Flags operator told media the coaster is "incredibly safe": each lap bar must be pressed down a set distance before it shows green on the main panel, all restraints must be green before the train can leave the station, and operators also make a visual check of a yellow line at the restraint pivot — "there is no way around it, even in maintenance mode." That account is at odds with witness reports of odd clicking and a relative's claim that Kariem's restraint had snapped. No party has concluded that equipment failure caused the death.

Twelve coasters now shut across North America

Six Flags closed nine comparable coasters at six parks in the U.S. and Canada "out of an abundance of caution", including Raging Bull, Nitro and Fury 325. Two more parks have since joined in — SeaWorld Orlando's Mako and La Ronde's Goliath in Montreal — bringing the total to twelve. The companies did not say how long the shutdowns would last or which shared safety features prompted them.

Records show hundreds of past incidents

A CNN investigation found state regulators have fielded nearly 300 accident reports from Six Flags parks since 2021; industry figures put North American fixed-site ride injuries at roughly 1,500 in 2024, about a quarter tied to technical or operational issues. Six Flags also permanently closed the X2 coaster at Magic Mountain last month after two women needed brain surgery in July and more than 100 people said the ride caused brain injuries, while two investor lawsuits claim years of underinvestment in maintenance. Media tallies describe this as at least the seventh death at the Georgia park, including a 2006 case in which a man suffered a likely heart attack on Goliath.

Family warns of fraudulent fundraisers

Kariem's family told TMZ they have not authorized any GoFundMe or crowdfunding pages in his name. No civil lawsuit over the Georgia incident has been confirmed.

Park reopens Friday; Goliath stays closed

Six Flags said its Georgia park would reopen Friday as planned, but Goliath would remain "temporarily closed" with no anticipated reopening date. The Cobb County police and OCI investigations are ongoing, and there is no official conclusion yet on why the restraint failed, what maintenance was done that day, or whether procedures were missed. The pressure on Six Flags extends beyond Atlanta: twelve idled coasters, the X2 litigation and investor nerves all now wait on the answers.