Lightning Loops Death

[zenmachinefilms]

Sad, and preventable.

An investigation by the State Labor Department concluded that the ride itself was operating properly, but that the ride operator started the ride without having made sure that all of the passengers were secured by the safety harnesses. The Department's Office of Safety Compliance further concluded that the accident would not have occurred had proper procedures been followed.

It should be known that Six Flags is much safer and much better managed today.

[12rollercoasterfreak]

@zac613 Roller coasters are probably the safest thing in the world, you don't have to worry about dying just because a few accidents out of the millions of people that have ridden them

[Goldenchild795]

She should`ve held on to her bars even if they weren`t fastened properly.. All she would have to do is hold up her own bodyweight to prevent her from falling out.. Any young person in somewhat reasonable physical shape should be able to do that..But I guess when panic sets in it`s hard to think about what to do

[davidw624624]

rolling blunder

[delideliver]

I was on that ride 3 days before this happened

[23airjordanfreak]

21,000 viewer! Niceeee

[GrandFunker]

When I was a kid, Lightning Loops and Rolling Thunder were EVERYTHING!

[280zxcowboys]

I remember this accident. I worked at Six Flags for 3 summers and after this accident Six FLags made a tandem dispatch system for all rides. I knew the ride supervisor and she was haunted by what happened.

[snake32bit]

thats where batman the ride is now i think that ride is hunted

[mapa183]

@snake32bit worked there 88 and 89. knew a few of the people there that day.. yes the ride area is haunted.. i know people who  saw a ghost from the swiss bob its her.. and i knew a few of the swiss bob crew who saw it happened, was she drunk or given some beer who knows. ro just, playing around on if she should go on or not.. i sat in the same seat she fell out of many times. then they changed the train. it was not as fun

[JimJayJoeproductions]

six flags has become so much safer since then!

[ESJY123]

@Jangocat said it perfectly. I had the same experience way back then. Too many Gs on the neck. That ride never felt 100% safe to me but I still rode it at least once every season.

[mrskittykatt10]

wat wood b scarier: watching her fall , or falling? i say both r even

[TheElectricSalad]

@mrskittykatt10 watching her fall would be scarring

[zac613]

@aslchinchilla i know. but these coasters are so old and so shitty looking that i'm not risking my life.

[eiseongatay548]

have you notice in 1981 a 20 year old park died on rolling thunder in great adventure durring the routine test . he was thrown out of the ride 35 feet dive when the seat belt broke

[Wrinkles41577]

@eiseongatay548 He stood up, on the ride, and that was not very bright.

[JimJayJoeproductions]

@eiseongatay548 the seat belt didnt brake he wasnt wearing it and didnt secure the bar

[NitroGadvRules]

@eiseongatay548 actually it was deemed to be a suicide.

[KISSFANFOREVER1000]

@eiseongatay548 He stood up.

[CommercialTVBuff]

In 2012, it will be 25 years since the death of Karen Anne Brown, from the now defunct Lightinin Loops. On a site someplace, it showed a photo of the red section, which is the upper. The article, about the incident. It showed the picture of the part of the loop, where she fell to her death. She sat in front, of the harness instead of behind. When the bar snapped shut, it was too late. Months later, the ride reopened, and installed handles on the restraints.

[Jangocat]

Even with the harness on this ride was dangerous. It beat the hell out of me when I was a perfectly fit teen and my mother got whiplash on this ride. She wore a neck brace for awhile after riding Lightning Loops (Never sued BTW, but she should have). It was a tight loop and after going forward you went backwards which was very stressful on your body. They tore it down and they don't make these anymore for good reason.

[jackbuster]

2:33-2:37: Imagine these skags look BETTER than Great Adventures spokeswoman!

[jackbuster]

5:54-5:58: Donna must have taken some criticism for how she looked the first time, because she looks a tad more presentable here, but 80's or not, I wouldn't have worn either outfit, makeup or hair to a DOG FIGHT!

[jackbuster]

:34-:54: That Donna O'Sullivan: nice bad 80's hair, blue eyeshadow and eyeliner, plastic pearls and upright collar. She looks like something out of "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion", except they were more fashionable!

[rcb3000]

damn smh

[ItalianBoy749]

after further investigation the blame was put on an employer because he failed to check all the safety restraints

[Fudgebegood]

I wish i could've ridden this SilverDollar City here i come! I think Batman:The Ride is better taller more inversions and packs a powerful punch.

[HouseOfCoolness]

still want ride it? diamondback at frontier city is still there. its the old blue loop that she fell out of.

[TKHxC]

@HouseOfCoolness i was prety sure it was the top loop she fell out of. and FCs is the bottom

[HouseOfCoolness]

@TKHxC i never been there xD but i heard about it.

[gopconservative78]

Six Flags sucks

[southplnk]

didnt you have to walk up flights of stairs to get on this?

[thedimeckks]

it wasnt on the chain lift its launched theres no chainlift in lihtning loops

[ejessup1]

This was the best ride ever! I miss it. I have no idea how she fell out, kind of sad.

[gopconservative78]

Six Flags is a death trap.....but its filled with asshole new york scum

[AJice1980]

@gopconservative78 u mean philadelphia scum

[rollercoastermaniac2]

this ride was scrapped :,'(

[rollercoastermaniac2]

@FilmNMusicBuff77 well PYTHON WAS SCRAPED IT SAIS ON COASTER DATABASE!!

[ahaha7980]

guys shit like this can happen it happens all the time stop freakin out about it it was an accedent anyways rollercoasters these days are much much much more safe

[mrmix56]

gosh we own the botmom loop to at frontier city this hapend at the top loop iv always foudn it rather safe exsept the vary back seet cuz n its vary loose but i ride it cuz of teh danger ^.^ the top loops was scraped

[rollercoastermaniac2]

@mrmix56 ya i likez the back on the bottom loop on lightning loops i rode it and man was it awsome!

[AJice1980]

After watching a youtube documentary on the haunted castle disaster, I don't think I'm ever going to six flags again. What a disgrace, and how the jury found them not guilty is beyond me.

[zac613]

@AJice1980 when i go to the 6 flags near me that had 4 deaths, i go to the death sites and say a little prayer and then i only ride rides that are close to the ground and i don't ride the rollercoasters.

[mysteric70]

This was 1987.

[OMGITSROCCELE]

i'll still never go there, and sorry to hear about that.

[Zlargo114]

this happened in 1994, this place is the best, Kingda Ka,Superman, Nitro, El Toro,

and Bizzaro!

[OMGITSROCCELE]

yes, very serious. well they sued the park, i mean it happened in the 80's so i didnt really know her, but she is my cousin.

[OMGITSROCCELE]

holy shit i'm not even kidding that was my cousin, she died on that when she was 19 a longggg time ago, my granmom brown was telling me a while ago and i didnt believe her so i got on here to see the roller coaster and i found this, she was with her fiance and he tried holding her in but she fell. i visit her grave all the time in linwood. its a shame. i'll never go to six flags.

[Imreallybored26]

Oh shit are you serious??!?! Jeez that must have been awful for your family:'( Well that sucks!

[AvivaLynn]

I remember this story, as well as other amusement park accident stories, were in a magazine article back in the early nineties. I remember this story disturbed me the most. I can only imagine how helpless he felt on the ride. I am a huge coaster and park fan but, do not visit Six Flags parks because of their shady history. Sorry about your family's loss.

[LZATL1396]

FUCK SIX FLAGS. Cheap fucking bastards. keep the park open when a death has occured. can't lose there money...fuckheads.

[fastlenny69]

I almost fell out of that ride that same year, I was only 8 years old. The operator did not make sure my harness was locked in. I told my cousin I was not secured and I held on as tight as I could with a death grip and had to go through the loop, the bad thing is I had to go through it again backwards!

[BillConover]

Disturbing how six flags ALWAYS says THEIR not at all fault when it's THEIR property, THEIR ride, and THEIR employee's. It's THEIR money that pays the State of NJ and all the other shit that always get's them clean and smelling good for the next season. I hope they go bankrupt for good and a movie made about THEIR rise and fall demise of THEIR lust and love for the all mighty American dollar! Jerk Offs!!!!!

[BillConover]

Only an ignorant 10 year old would make such a comment as you did. Care to elaborate on how you came to that genius educated statement?

[CommercialFreak77]

I'm sorry. My friend died, two years ago in an auto racing accident. I was so close to him and his family. Now, people needed to respect me since his death but, another friend of mine told me not to expect that because, I would have jerkoff fans around me but, I didn't care. I wanted respect. PERIOD!

[dcone53]

i have been on this ride several times and nothing has happened, but you never know. It couldve been the riders fault or the rides fault

[jackbuster]

Kingda Ka makes Lightnin' Loops look like the safest ride in Kiddie Land!

And course the park stayed open during the accident.

Why should they lose a few bucks just because somebody died?

I think it must be their policy.

[BoredBunny]

I loled when the guy said that he yelled at the operators to stop the ride. Doesn't he know that they can't stop the ride? It's powered by gravity!

Anyways, it's sad that a life was lost, but it was her fault.

[jimmyhd1969]

And not to mention over-priced.

[zac613]

@Wrinkles41577 almost all 6 flag parks are jinxed

[Fudgebegood]

@BoredBunny if there was a block section they couldve but yea lmfaso that was a shithead move

[rollercoastermaniac2]

@BoredBunny it was on the chainlift! It Could stop

[banker1987]

This was my first looping coaster and I rode it over 75 times. I know someone who worked there at the time and the story is that she was playing around and was not in properly on purpose. It does not excuse the ride operators from doing their job. They never should have launched the coaster without first checking that all riders were secure. For those of you who miss the ride, you can find one fo the loops still operating in Frontierland, Oklahoma City, OK. It is the coolest ride till this day!!

[mapa183]

@banker1987 mine too.. my cousin took me on.. i freaked.. but my brave older cousin kept me safe.. i wish he was still with us.. found a deck of small great adventure cards.. he stuck them in his pocket for me unless we could all not get on and i got them from whoever was next in line in the family

[VideoSuperMaster]

Well that place is a death trap. Going to Six Fags is like playing Russian Roulette.

[rollercoastersrock]

you do know sf hasnt had a an accident in about 20 years right

[VideoSuperMaster]

I think you're talking about a certain park, because Six Flags has had plenty of accedents in the last 20 years. Even Disney World has had its share of fatal accidents.

[rollercoastersrock]

yeah im talking about great adventure specifically not the six flags parks as a whole.

[ricardo10101]

what about that girl that had her foot cut off on a ride?

[rollercoastersrock]

yeah that happened at a different six flags park. i originally just meant great adventure, should worded my original comment better

[ricardo10101]

well actually a few yrs back a disabled kid on the superman was able to unstrap himself from the ride and he fell off, i think that was gfreat adventure, not entirley sure tho

[rollercoastersrock]

nope. if that did happen it wasnt at great adventure

[twilightstar302]

@rollercoastersrock no...one was 2007...a boy was killed

[rollercoastersrock]

@twilightstar302 I highly doubt that. where and how? because the last 'incidient' i can think of was the chiller incident, and no one was injured in that one.

[twilightstar302]

@rollercoastersrock idk but i know it wasent the chiller

[rollercoastersrock]

@twilightstar302 then most likely whatever you heard was completly untrue because there weren't any deaths at the park in 2007.

[MsSeaKittens]

@rollercoastersrock No, but there was a girl at SF Fiesta Texas who had an incident on a ride and became a paraplegic in 2007. There was also a girl at SF America who fell and sustained minor injuries. Not to mention the incident at the same park where a bunch of riders were sprayed with hydraulic fluid and needed medical attention.

[MsSeaKittens]

@rollercoastersrock Oh, there was also a girl in 2007 who had bot of her feet severed at the ankle on Superman at Kentucky Kingdom. The right foot was reattached.

[rcb3000]

@rollercoastersrock what about the guy that got decapitated at six flags over Georgia? (not a coaster hater btw)

[rollercoastersrock]

@rcb3000 that was his fault. He was the one who decided to hop two six foot fences with danger zone signs all over it in order to get his hat he dropped on the ride. He got hit by the train as it passed by. It's the same Batman ride that's at Great Adventure and the Batman coaster are very close to the ground. When I said there haven't been any accidents I meant at Great Adventure. All the SF parks operate differently and some take better care of their rides than others.

[rcb3000]

@rollercoastersrock you're right, like i was mad when i heard that news.

[nelsonr12]

@rollercoastersrock not one that sf caused

[tirobiz]

Whether she hopped in when the harness was locked down or not, It was still the ride operators fault for not checking each rider like they are supposed to do.

[Egypt2112]

good find

[deathmatter56]

i hate that person they closed lightning loops down because of her

[ViPeRx718]

lmao i remember my mom told mii about this ride, heard it was pretty good, its supposedly been reincarnated in tha coaster batman:the chiller but they closed that gem down and it was a personal favorite of mine, y do these coaster noobs have to die and fuck it up for tha rest of us

[LauraaRichT]

Cmmon. Have some flipping respect

[jackbuster]

lightnin' loops was sold in two parts, from what I heard, and as of a few years ago, both the sections were operational. One was near the Washington DC area. I'm not sure if they are still around.

[FallenxAngelxForever]

One of the sections is at Frontier City, Oklahoma and is still open.

[Black77Diamond]

I have enjoyed the book about the HAUNTED CASTLE. I hate to say this, the employee died in 1981 on Rolling Thunder look on Wikipedia "ACCIDENTS AT SIX FLAGS"

[jackbuster]

I do not trust wikipedia, but I will look into it further.

[jackbuster]

You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I confused the year, but the rest of the story is what I'd learned. I will have to adjust that in my book. That's why I have it in PDF form. Thanks!

[mapa183]

@Black77Diamond the fire the kids set.. i remember that.. the bobsled someone broke a leg or something..

[Orphiex]

I rode that. It was fun. And it was her fault for jumping in when harnest was locked.

[jimmyhd1969]

It happened in 1987. The rider was at fault as she hopped in the car after the safety bar was locked down.

[FilmNMusicBuff77]

It happened on 6/17/87, you're completely right it was her fault. Her boyfriend, told his side of the story about how it happened. She fell 75 feet, and the autopsy ruled: MASSIVE SKULL FRACTURE.

[MrsNatWolff95]

how did u ear his interveiwe?

[mapa183]

@FilmNMusicBuff77 i remember about a week or so later my x wanted to go to ga . we  did, we get by that ride he says lets go on.. adah knew it was closed and even if it was open i would not trust him... the next year i sat in the seat she did..

[cygnus122]

Very nice find.

[NorthEastCoasters]

wow! Very cool! Thanks for sharing