Cracked Wood Caused Son of Beast Accident

[OrlandoRocks]

Link to Site and Videos:
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/07/09/kings_island_ax.html

Cracked and splintered wood caused the roller coaster accident that injured 27 people Sunday afternoon, according to a preliminary investigation.

The Department of Agriculture, along with state and industry experts were investigating the wooden coaster "Son of Beast" on Monday, trying to find out what caused a train full of passengers to jolt to a halt around 4:45 p.m. Sunday.

Two people remained in the hospital Monday, suffering from injuries described as not life-threatening. At least 25 others were treated and released Sunday.

Monday's preliminary investigation revealed that timbers were cracked and splintered on a downward hill. The jolt happened shortly after the train passed over those faulty timbers, 9News learned.

Structural damage causes ten percent of roller coaster accidents, a public relations spokesperson told Channel 9's Deb Silverman.

Investigators still say they're not ruling any other causes out, such as operator error.

"Son of Beast" has been closed since the accident.

Sunday at the park

The park remained open Sunday even though the ride had been shut down. Empty cars could still be seen suspended on an incline going up the roller coaster's track.

Witnesses say they saw the roller coaster stop with a "bump," like a car coming to an abrupt stop.

Several rescue squads were called to the amusement park which is just off I-71 in Warren County.

Dozens of EMS units from Hamilton and Warren counties as well as local townships took people to Bethesda North Hospital in Montgomery where the staff was on "high alert."

Seventeen riders had been released from hospitals within five hours of the accident and at least one had been admitted with injuries that weren't life-threatening, Maureen Kaiser, a spokeswoman for the park said.

However, 9News learned that the people admitted were being kept at the hospital overnight.

Twelve people were taken to Bethesda North Hospital and 10 were taken to Bethesda Medical Center in Lebanon, said Mona Fuqua, a spokeswoman for both hospitals.

"Bumps and bruises"

"At this point, we're looking at bumps and bruises," she said.

Several others were taken to Mercy Hospital of Fairfield, a sheriff's dispatcher said.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital declined to describe their conditions or even confirm park patrons were brought there.

9News was told many of the passengers complained of head and neck injuries.

Fastest wooden coaster on earth

The park's website describes the roller coaster as "the tallest, fastest and only looping wooden coaster on the planet" that hurtles down a 214-foot hill at more than 78 mph.

The coaster, more than 7,000 feet long, features a 118-foot tall loop.

Kaiser said park officials have shut down the Son of Beast roller coaster and are examining it.

Investigators with the Ohio Department of Agriculture's ride safety division also were planning to examine the ride, she said.

Riders complained of discomfort after the coaster completed a circuit and pulled back into the boarding area, said Kaiser.

The park's emergency staff tended to the riders and notified authorities, Kaiser said.

A sheriff's office dispatcher said most had minor chest and neck injuries.

Witnesses and park officials

While the ride has been shut down pending an inspection, Kings Island officials are not commenting on why the ride was at first not operational when the amusement park first opened Sunday morning.

"Why it didn't open directly with the park, I don't have the answer to that," Kaiser said at the Sunday night press conference.

Some visitors claimed they experienced an abnormally bumpy ride even before the ride's apparent malfunction Sunday afternoon.

"I know for a fact that our car jumped tracks," Frank Nitty, a park visitor told 9News. "It jumped the tracks, we all jumped."

Kings Island has reportedly seen three malfunctions with the "Son of Beast" roller coaster since it opened six years ago, but none this serious.

The park filed a lawsuit against the ride's builder before it opened, stating it was structurally unsound.

[Phenomenal Woman]

Obviously this is not good news but why did the reporter have to look down at his notes every single time he said ?Son of Beast? (worst dramatic effect ever)

[WadeJ]

Edit:  I'm going to retract what I said.  The more and more I thought about it, nearly all of these "incidents" involved the failure of a component that would really be undectable by the mechanics inspecting the rides.

Still kinda scary though.

1st post for Phenomenal Woman!!

[David Jr]

Anyone want to lay bets on how long before SOB is torn down.

[PcMan]

Wow
and to think in 2 weeks I would be going to this park for the first time.
I hope it's open and all good by then.