Global Courant
CHARLOTTE, NC — A visible crack in the skid beam of a roller coaster in North Carolina was a reminder of the risks that sometimes come with amusement park rides, especially when families and adrenaline junkies flock to the rides in the summer.
Video footage of Carowinds’ popular Fury 325 of Charlotte — known as a “Giga Roller Coaster” for its dramatic 300-foot (99 m) height — showed a major support beam flexing with the top visibly detached as cars full of unsuspecting passengers whirl by at speeds of up to 95 mph (150 km/h).
The park, which straddles the line between North Carolina and South Carolina, closed the ride late last week as questions swirled about how the crack formed. Those answers remained largely unknown because state detectives were on the scene Monday morning.
Tommy Petty, chief of the State Department of Labor’s Amusement Device Bureau, confirmed Monday that investigators were “already coming and going” from Carowinds, but declined to share details of their findings. Meanwhile, in a statement, Carowinds said all of its rides, including Fury 325, are inspected daily “to ensure their proper operation and structural integrity.”
Several Carowinds visitors said they knew the ride was closed for repairs, but were not deterred from enjoying the park’s other attractions.
Greg Bledsoe, a 22-year-old season pass holder, visited the park Monday despite seeing the viral video of the Fury 325 track separating from its support beam midway through the ride.
“I’m just glad I wasn’t on it because I don’t want to fall off. I’m glad no one fell,” he said.
While Bledsoe said the video was “a bit of a shock,” he remains confident in the park’s overall safety and plans to put his season pass to good use.
“Hopefully they get it fixed before the season is over so I can ride it a bit more,” he said of the broken coaster. “It’s the most important thing here.”
Industry experts have been quick to disprove that millions of Americans jump on rollercoasters, Ferris wheels, waterslides and many other rides without ever experiencing any problems. They note that injury rates are extremely low.
A 2021 study conducted on behalf of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions found “0.9 injuries per million rides,” said Caitlin Dineen, the group’s spokesperson. That year, more than 1,200 ride-related injuries were reported out of the typical 1.7 billion rides that occur each year at 400 locations in North America.
“Safety is the top priority for the global attraction industry,” said Dineen. “An outstanding safety record is in the best interest of the industry, and industry leaders are committed to providing safe and secure attractions for all their guests and visitors.”
For Steven Powers, a resident of Columbia, South Carolina, who visited Carowinds Monday with friends, the park’s positive vibe outweighs any concerns.
“As for other security issues, I don’t believe there are,” Powers said. “I think we always subconsciously think something could happen in the back of our minds, but I also know that they have people’s lives in their hands, so they’re going to make sure they do what they need to do on their end.”
Even if theme park accidents don’t result in injuries, they can still disrupt vacations and cause headaches for summertime fun-seekers.
Shortly after footage was released of the crack in the Fury 325’s support structure, riders on a roller coaster in northeastern Wisconsin were trapped upside down for three hours before emergency services arrived to rescue them.
WJFW reports that the ride had recently been inspected when a mechanical failure occurred, causing the coaster to stop midway through the ride, said Captain Brennan Cook of the Crandon Fire Department.
But sometimes there are deaths on an amusement park ride.
In 2022, Orlando’s International Drive district removed a towering 400-foot ride after it was directly linked to the death of 14-year-old Tire Sampson — a Missouri teenager who fell to his death on the ride of the year prior.
Sampson, who lived near St. Louis, Missouri, was visiting Orlando over spring break when he died.
An initial report from outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said sensors had been manually adjusted during the ride to double the opening for seatbelts on two seats, resulting in the teen not being properly restrained.
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Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh and Kruesi from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writer Claire Savage in Chicago contributed to this report.
