A roller coaster in Texas was the cause of a death of a young woman two months ago. It is set to reopen this weekend, with new safety measures put in place. The event occurred at Six Flags Over Texas on the Texas Giant in Arlington, Texas.
Safety should always come first when riding a roller coaster, and it is the responsibility of the staff to make sure that everyone is securely fastened, preventing fatal accidents such as this one.
The Texas Giant is one of their tallest roller coasters with a height of 14-stories that twists and turns at more than 60 miles per hour, according to ABC News. The ride was closed down on July 19, after Rose Esparza had a tragic fall that resulted in her death.
The park announced its reopening and quickly received flak from the Esparza family, blaming them for negligence. Her family filed a civil wrongful-death on Tuesday, which accuses the theme park for being negligent in the accident, says CNN. The lawsuit describes the event and the feelings that her family had in response. It is such a tragedy when things like this happen, causing some people to not want to go to theme parks anymore. This kind of an event certainly does not happen often, thankfully, but often enough that something needs to be seriously done about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kog3ZWiqe9Q
Esparza, age 52, was thrown against the ride and then catapulted onto the metal roof of a tunnel below and fell 75 feet. She died shortly afterward from the traumatic injuries that she received upon landing. Since the incident and preparing to reopen the park, Six Flags has installed new seat belts and a coaster seat at the ride’s entrance for visitors to test their fit before they get in line. The T-shaped lap bar that was supposed to hold her in did not do its job in this case. She was 5’2 and 200 pounds, but it is still unclear whether the safety bar got locked, or if it was simply not sufficient to hold someone in that was her size.
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Her family is requesting a trial by jury and is seeking compensation of at least $1 million. However, the park released a statement on Tuesday, saying that they had conducted an investigation, which revealed no mechanical failure had occurred on the ride. Continue to follow the story in order to see what will happen. Was Six Flags responsible or should she not have been riding in the ride in the first place?
Good News: The Texas Giant reopens this weekend with new incremental and overlapping safety measures. Learn more at http://t.co/ZVwhwJeWwe
— Six Flags Over Texas (@SixFlagsOverTX) September 10, 2013