Six Flags Closes 9 Coasters After Rider Dies on Goliath

A man died Monday afternoon after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, and the company has since pulled nine similar coasters out of service at six other parks.

The Cobb County Police Department said the incident happened shortly before 4 p.m. on October 12 at the park in Mableton, west of Atlanta. One person was killed and several others were injured. Detectives with the department's Major Crimes Unit are investigating the circumstances.

Police have not said how the man came out of the ride, have not said how the other people were hurt, and have not released the man's name.

Six Flags said in a statement that it had temporarily closed similar attractions across its parks out of an abundance of caution, and that the safety of guests and team members remains one of its highest priorities.

Riders on the coaster say they watched him come out of his seat

Logan Conner said he was on Goliath with his fiancé when he saw the man come out of his seat, according to NBC News. "The man started levitating in the air sideways," he said. "We made direct eye contact with him."

At least two witnesses said the man struck parts of the ride on the way down. One witness told Atlanta station WXIA the man was in the souvenir photo the ride takes of each train. "He's in our Goliath pictures. The picture that they take and that you keep," the witness said. A witness also told the station he "fell and hit the car three different times."

A witness told WXIA that the man who fell had been sitting with a child.

Footage showed the man who died was found on a nearby roof, Atlanta News First reported.

Nearly 20 people were stranded on the lift hill

Goliath stopped with a set of cars near the top of the ride. Ben Edwards, who is visiting from Canada, was among nearly 20 people stuck on the 200-foot incline when the train halted shortly before 4 p.m. Many of them sat up there for at least an hour.

"We saw mechanics and paramedics running down there; we realized something bad had happened," Edwards said. He called the incident very tragic, saying the first thing you think about is the people you are on the ride with.

Crews brought riders down four at a time, according to Lake and McHenry County Scanner. A news helicopter recorded passengers being helped to the ground, and video from the park showed people climbing out of the train and down a staircase high above the midway.

Edwards said the company needs to do better, pointing out that plenty of people stuck up there were frightened of heights to begin with.

Nine rides at six parks went dark

The coasters taken out of service are Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America in Illinois, Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, Leviathan and Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, Fury 325 and Thunder Striker at Carowinds in North Carolina, and Orion and Diamondback at Kings Island in Ohio.

Kings Island, Carowinds and Canada's Wonderland are all owned by Six Flags, a result of the merger that folded the old Cedar Fair parks into the same company.

Six Flags has not said how long the closures will last or what, specifically, crews are checking.

Goliath opened in 2006 and uses lap bars

The ride was designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers of Switzerland, the same firm behind most of the rides now sitting idle at the other parks. It opened in 2006.

Goliath tops out at 70 mph with a peak elevation of 200 feet. It has a 170-foot first drop and a second drop of 175 feet, a 540-degree spiral, and forces reaching up to 4 Gs, according to the park's website. Anything at least 200 feet tall gets called a hypercoaster.

The restraints on Goliath sit across riders' laps. There are no over-the-shoulder harnesses, which is standard for coasters of this type.

The 911 call named the ride

A 911 dispatcher sent crews to the park with a plain description of what had been called in. "Heading to Six Flags theme park on Six Flags Parkway," the dispatcher said. "Someone has fallen off of the Goliath ride, come to the park." The audio came from a crime radar app and was reported by WSB Radio.

Officers already assigned to the park responded alongside uniformed patrol officers, police said. The park shut down for the rest of the day and guests were told to leave.

Six Flags offered condolences and little else

"We are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today," a park spokesperson said. "Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest's family, friends, and loved ones. We are also providing support to the guests and team members affected."

The statement said the park team and local authorities responded immediately and that the company is cooperating fully with the investigation. Out of respect for the family's privacy, the spokesperson said, no additional details would be shared.

Cobb County's chairwoman called it a terrible tragedy

Lisa Cupid, the Cobb County chairwoman, said in a statement that she cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed, and that her heart aches for the family who lost a loved one.

Cupid said the county is working closely with the amusement park and other appropriate partners as the investigation proceeds. She asked people to keep the family of the deceased, the injured, and park employees in their thoughts, saying the community is grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families happy memories.

The stock fell more than 10% after hours

Shares of Six Flags Entertainment dropped more than 10% in after-hours trading Monday once word of the incident spread. The stock had closed 4.5% higher during the regular session.

Six Flags shares have fallen 22% year to date.

A California coaster was already retired last month

Six Flags was named in multiple lawsuits in September filed by riders who say they suffered brain injuries on the X2 coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California. That ride has 360-degree rotating seats, a 215-foot drop and sudden flips.

X2 has been closed since July 12, one day after attorney Christopher Bulone said one of the plaintiffs suffered catastrophic brain injury after a ride. On Sept. 29, Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding said the coaster was being retired because "it's the right thing to do" after guest confidence in its safety was affected.

Raging Bull sits idle in the middle of a 50th anniversary season

The Gurnee, Illinois coaster closed after the Georgia incident opened in 1999 as the world's first hyper-twister. It is the tallest and longest ride at Six Flags Great America at more than 200 feet tall and over 5,000 feet long.

Riders climb 20 stories before dropping down a 65-degree plunge into an underground tunnel and hitting 73 mph. The ride was out of service for several weeks from August 2025 for a full repaint and reopened during Fright Fest that October.

Great America was open Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and it was not clear what time Raging Bull was taken out of service. The park is celebrating its 50th anniversary season, was next scheduled to open Friday, and has November 1 as its final operating day of the year.

What is still unknown

Cobb County police have not explained how the man came out of the train, have not described the injuries to the other guests, and have not said when the Major Crimes Unit expects to finish its work. Neither the department nor Six Flags has identified anyone involved.

Six Flags Over Georgia sits about 10 miles west of downtown Atlanta. The park closed for the rest of Monday, and the company has not given a timeline for reopening Goliath or the nine rides shut down in other states.