Volcano Now Open!!

[Bubba Z]

A broken bolt was what caused a roller coaster to stall on its tracks on June 23, Paramount's Kings Dominion a park spokeswoman said yesterday.

 Park officials reopened the Volcano ride yesterday at 1 p.m. for the first time since the incident.

The ride had remained closed while park maintenance workers and Hanover County's assistant chief building official, Brian Gentilini, investigated and repaired the roller coaster, said park spokeswoman Susie Storey.

Gentilini, who also represents Volcano's maker - Intamin AG of Zurich, Switzerland - visited the park again Saturday night for a final assessment of the ride and OK'd its reopening, Storey said.

Gentilini could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Storey said the broken track bolt caused one of the coaster's cars to brake, stranding passengers 12 feet above ground for two hours.

One rider, a Utah man whose identity was not released, was hospitalized at VCU Medical Center and released on June 28. Park officials said he was treated for a cut above his eye.

Park officials shut down the ride and isolated the damaged bolt as the cause of the malfunction, Storey said.

"There was nothing wrong with the ride itself," she said. "We tested and retested it. It's one of those unexpected things that just happen."

She said the park's rides undergo annual inspection and certification by the county's building inspector's office, as well as daily, weekly and monthly checkups by park staff members.

"All rides have multiple layers of safety systems," Storey said. "For Volcano, we're going to keep an eye on the replacement schedule on all the bolts, just to help prevent anything in the future."

Yesterday, parkgoers lined up for a trip around Volcano, causing at least a 90-minute wait throughout the afternoon, Storey said.

Volcano has drawn more than 5 million riders since it opened in 1998, Storey said.


Contact staff writer Tiffany Hsu at thsu@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6108.