SIX FLAGS SHUTS DOWN NINE COASTERS, SAYS SAFETY IS 'ONE OF' ITS HIGHEST PRIORITIES

Just before 4 p.m. Monday at Six Flags Over Georgia, a 42-year-old Atlanta man was ejected from the Goliath hypercoaster, struck other riders and fell beneath the track. Police identified him as Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a school employee whose charter school called him a cherished member of its community. Four other people were hospitalized. Cobb County's Major Crimes Unit and the state office that inspects amusement rides are now trying to figure out how a man comes out of a coaster that has been running since 2006. Six Flags answered by closing nine coasters at six parks in the US and Canada: Nitro in New Jersey, Raging Bull in Illinois, Fury 325 and Thunder Striker at Carowinds, Orion and Diamondback at Kings Island, Behemoth and Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland, and the other Goliath at Magic Mountain. The company called it an abundance of caution and said guest safety "remains one of our highest priorities." One of. That sentence got lawyered until it stopped meaning anything. Goliath is 200 feet tall, hits 70 mph, and keeps you in your seat with a lap bar. No seat belts. Every closed ride except Magic Mountain's Goliath was built by Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss firm now saying it is actively investigating. All of this lands two weeks after Magic Mountain announced it was permanently retiring X2 following a CNN investigation into injuries and deaths on the ride.

Why you should give a shit: When a lap bar is the only thing between you and a 200-foot drop, you want safety to be the highest priority, not one of them, and nine of North America's biggest coasters are dark right now because nobody can yet say what failed.