Six Flags Entertainment Corporation will add seat belts to the Goliath roller coaster and similar rides across its parks after a rider died on the Georgia coaster Oct. 12.
The announcement marks the first concrete safety action since the company shut down nine coasters chainwide, including two of Kings Island's biggest draws in Mason. Orion and Diamondback remain closed with no reopening date.
John Reilly, president and CEO of Six Flags, said in a statement that the company is "reinforcing safety precautions at our parks and taking additional measures, including adding seat belts on Goliath and other coasters with a similar restraint." Reilly did not specify which other coasters will get the upgrade, according to WLWT.
The closures followed the death of Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old Atlanta educator who was ejected from his seat on Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia, according to Cobb County police. Four other passengers, all minors, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, the Journal-News reported. Investigators have not said what caused the incident.
All nine closed Six Flags coasters were built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). They share a clamshell lap-bar restraint system. Goliath relied solely on that lap bar with no seat belt backup.
Kings Island's Orion and Diamondback are also B&M coasters with the same clamshell restraints, but both rides already have seat belts as a secondary safeguard. Kings Island's former owner, Cedar Fair, required seat belts on all its B&M coasters, WCPO reported. Six Flags completed its merger with Cedar Fair in July 2024.
Despite that existing safety feature, Six Flags has kept Orion and Diamondback offline. A Kings Island spokesperson told WCPO that "the review of the incident is ongoing, and we do not have a timeline to reopen the paused attractions."
Six Flags has also enlisted independent engineers and inspectors to review safety procedures for all rides at its parks, according to Reilly's statement. Cleveland.com reported that Reilly made the announcement in an Oct. 23 letter to guests and passholders.
Dennis Speigel, owner of Cincinnati-based International Theme Park Services, told WLWT that Six Flags had "done the prudent, proper thing" by closing the rides.
Other parks have already reopened similar B&M coasters. SeaWorld Orlando reopened its Mako coaster after about a week offline. Hersheypark in Pennsylvania reopened Candymonium, noting that B&M "has not identified an engineering basis to recommend shutting down similarly designed coasters, solely because of the incident in Georgia."
The timing squeezes Kings Island visitors. The park listed Orion, Diamondback and Drop Tower on its scheduled ride closures page for the Oct. 23 weekend. Kings Island closes its main rides after a Bonus Weekend on Nov. 8, and its biggest coasters do not operate during Winterfest in December.
