Cobb County police said Tuesday that a 42-year-old Atlanta man riding the Goliath hypercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia was thrown from his seat, struck other patrons, and fell beneath the train on Monday afternoon, leaving him dead and four other visitors injured. The disclosure pushed Six Flags Entertainment to temporarily close nine similar coasters at six parks in the United States and Canada while investigators review equipment and operating procedures.
Police timeline and witness accounts
Officers assigned to the Mableton park and uniformed patrol units responded around 3:58 p.m. on October 12 after reports of an incident on a roller coaster, according to a Cobb County Police Department statement. Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit took over the scene as riders on Goliath were evacuated from trains stopped on the lift hill.
Police identified the man who died as Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem. In a news release Tuesday, the department said Kariem was “ejected from the ride and struck other patrons before falling beneath the attraction,” citing interviews with witnesses. He was unresponsive when officers reached him below the track. Authorities have not released the conditions of the four injured guests or said whether any struck passengers required hospitalization.
Local television footage showed guests walking down the coaster’s structure as the park shut down for the day. Cobb County Commission Chair Lisa Cupid said next of kin had been notified and that the county is coordinating with park security and police as the inquiry continues.
Nine hypercoasters idled ‘out of caution’
Six Flags said Monday evening that it closed nine roller coasters “out of an abundance of caution” after the Georgia incident. ABC News and other outlets reported that the affected rides are hypercoasters manufactured largely by Bolliger & Mabillard, the same Swiss firm that built Goliath in Georgia.
The company’s list spans Kings Island in Ohio (Orion and Diamondback), Six Flags Great America in Illinois (Raging Bull), Six Flags Magic Mountain in California (Goliath), Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey (Nitro), Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario (Leviathan and Behemoth), and Carowinds in North Carolina (Fury 325 and Thunder Striker). A spokesperson said staff responded immediately and that the parks are cooperating with investigators, but did not say when the rides would reopen.
Six Flags Over Georgia remained closed Tuesday. The park had been open on the Columbus Day holiday, a busy fall-break window for Atlanta-area schools.
What regulators will examine
Georgia’s Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner typically inspects amusement rides in the state, and police have not ruled out mechanical, operator, or guest-conduct factors. Six Flags has not publicly detailed restraint checks or dispatch procedures for Goliath since the death.
For a chain that merged with Cedar Fair in 2024, the simultaneous stand-down underscores how a single high-profile failure can ripple across brands that market speed and height as selling points. Until Cobb investigators and state safety officials publish findings, guests at paused coasters will be rerouted to other attractions while lawyers and insurers begin the long process of reconstructing Monday’s sequence second by second.