17 yr old decapitated at Six Flags Over Georgia today

[moe.ron]

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A teenager died Saturday when he was decapitated at the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park outside Atlanta, authorities said.

The 17-year-old park visitor was killed after scaling two 6-foot fences around the Batman roller coaster, said a statement issued by park spokeswoman Hela Sheth. He was struck by the coaster and killed, she said.

"We do not know why this person was intent on gaining access to this restricted area," the statement said, noting that multiple signs are posted stating, "Danger Zone," "Do Not Enter" and "Authorized Personnel Only."

"Some witnesses have stated that the individual was trying to retrieve something he had lost," Sheth's statement said. "Others reported that he was trying to touch the ride. This is merely speculation at this point, and we are working with park visitors and local police to learn more."

No one on the ride was injured, she said.

Police said the incident occurred about 2 p.m.

The victim's family was at the park with him, Sheth said, and park representatives were with them Saturday evening.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," she said.



That's No Way To Get Ahead in Life

(Wish I could claim to that)

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by kinkoboi

That last comment (about getting ahead) was uncalled for! You are a moderator and that kind of comment is not funny in this sort of situation!!

Why? He made a snarky comment about the untimely death of a Darwin Award winner.

[carnation]

The Atlanta new said last night that he was with a church group from South Carolina and for some reason, he jumped 2 fences. I used to work at a Six Flgas branch and one of our worst problems was kids who tried to push the envelope--get into restricted areas, ride rides the wrong way (like unfastening the seat belt during the ride), otherwise show how "brave" they were.

[preciousjeni]

Teenaged boys are out of their minds. How do you keep a handle on them? My heart goes out to the family and I HOPE this incident knocked some sense into the other kids in the group.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Why? He made a snarky comment about the untimely death of a Darwin Award winner.

Co-sign on that.

[twinkle555]

Originally Posted by carnation

The Atlanta new said last night that he was with a church group from South Carolina and for some reason, he jumped 2 fences. I used to work at a Six Flgas branch and one of our worst problems was kids who tried to push the envelope--get into restricted areas, ride rides the wrong way (like unfastening the seat belt during the ride), otherwise show how "brave" they were.

I read on AOL news that he was trying to recover a hat from the restricted areas. I feel sorry for his friends and family of course, that is a horrible situation, but those areas are restricted for a reason...

[Jill1228]

Originally Posted by twinkle555

I read on AOL news that he was trying to recover a hat from the restricted areas. I feel sorry for his friends and family of course, that is a horrible situation, but those areas are restricted for a reason...

Thank you! And is a hat worth losing your head over? (NO pun intended). My heart goes out to his family, but it was a senseless loss

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by twinkle555

I read on AOL news that he was trying to recover a hat from the restricted areas. I feel sorry for his friends and family of course, that is a horrible situation, but those areas are restricted for a reason...

yea that is really sad.. all for a hat.

If the hat had senitmental value, he could have easily put it in someone's purse, or sat on it or SOMETHING. I mean, you're going on a really fast rollercoaster - it WILL be windy and you WILL lose your hat.

[Kevlar281]

Originally Posted by moe.ron

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A teenager died Saturday when he was decapitated at the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park outside Atlanta, authorities said.

The 17-year-old park visitor was killed after scaling two 6-foot fences around the Batman roller coaster, said a statement issued by park spokeswoman Hela Sheth. He was struck by the coaster and killed, she said.

"We do not know why this person was intent on gaining access to this restricted area," the statement said, noting that multiple signs are posted stating, "Danger Zone," "Do Not Enter" and "Authorized Personnel Only."

"Some witnesses have stated that the individual was trying to retrieve something he had lost," Sheth's statement said. "Others reported that he was trying to touch the ride. This is merely speculation at this point, and we are working with park visitors and local police to learn more."

No one on the ride was injured, she said.

Police said the incident occurred about 2 p.m.

The victim's family was at the park with him, Sheth said, and park representatives were with them Saturday evening.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," she said.

Months Ago...

A 20-year-old man was struck by a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain over Labor Day weekend after scaling a pair of security fences to retrieve a lost hat.

According to park officials in Valencia, the man entered a restricted area of the Ninja suspended roller coaster on Saturday after losing his hat on the adjacent water flume ride.

Amusement park medical personnel, arriving on the accident scene within two minutes, found the man unconscious but breathing. He was transported by ambulance to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where officials said he remains in critical condition

Dejavu

[texas*princess]

that's ridiculous.

[ASTalumna06]

I worked at an amusement park for 3 summers, and you'd honestly be surprised at the stupid stuff people do, both on and off rides. It is the land of dumb customers. We would joke that when people walked through the front gates, their IQ would drop 50 points. I've been yelled at by guests for not letting them go on rides during a lightening storm, I've seen people stand up while a ride is going, and then get mad when I stop it and kick them off, and I've been complained about because I wouldn't allow kids to kick their shoes off into walking traffic while rides are moving. I've even seen a kid jump over the queue fence to one of those 20 person flume rides, into the ride area, jump into the trough of water (to get a hat, of course), and then jump back out. I obviously had to push the emergency stop, I yelled at him, and he wondered why, saying, "It's no big deal, it's not like a boat was coming." Yea, but the current of water, and all the machinery under it will KILL YOU. I swear, people can be really dumb sometimes.

What really sucks about this Six Flags situation is that this kid probably could have asked the people working the ride to get the hat for him. We would do that sometimes if people were persistent enough. If not, we'd get it at the end of the day and bring it to guest services for them to get.

It's sad that people feel compelled to risk their lives for.. hats!

[DaemonSeid]

Never lose your head chasing a peice of tail -Big Dog to Little Dog.

[ZTABullwinkle]

Seriously, what hat is worth losing your head over?

[PANTHERTEKE]

Losing your head over a hat, wow.

But I'm trying to imagine how one is decapitated from jumping fences.. O_o

[SWTXBelle]

I lost a brand new visor on Splash Mountain. Yea, yea, I know - I should have taken it off. It never crossed my mind to jump out and get it . . . which may be why I was not decapitated.