Please help me, she screamed as she was wheeled out of the ride area. A state investigation found no evidence that the park acted illegally or had reason to believe the ride was unsafe. At around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, a female guest was waiting in line to ride the Top Thrill Dragster when a small metal object became dislodged from a train at the top of the 420-foot-tall ride, park . From 2021:Woman at Cedar Point struck in the head by falling roller coaster piece. The ride goesfrom standstill to 120 mph in just3.8 seconds. The speed record was again broken in 2010 by Formula Rossa at Ferrari World, which reaches a maximum speed of 149.1mph (240.0km/h). Cedar Point, an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, announced . I'm not saying that you should look down on #TopThrillDragster, but I AM saying that you should enjoy another aerial shot.#cedarpoint #rollercoaster pic.twitter.com/NlPcnrwSCV. A hole in the ground where the Top Thrill Dragster queue used to stand. Her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2002, but it was dismissed in 2006. . Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com. Top Thrill Dragster is one of the park's most thrilling and popular rides, with a top speed of 120 mph and height of 420 feet. The state on Monday released the one-page initialincident report, which identified the victim as Hawes ofSwartz Creek, Michigan. Its going to take them a while to do the forensics, said Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services. Once the train was prepared to launch, a motor revving sound effect was played and its magnetic braking fins were lowered from the launch track. Rachel Hawes Incident. A state investigationfound no evidence that the park acted illegally or had reason to believe the ride was unsafe. All rights reserved. From the start, the coaster was plagued by issues that led to its frequent closings as the park grappled with its complicatedhydraulic system. When it opened in 2003, Top Thrill Dragsterwas the tallest and fastest coaster in the world, but those records were surpassed in 2005 by the Kingda Ka coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. We posted an article, Top Thrill Dragster To Be Reimagined, Rumors Fly Of What This Could Look Like!,which outlined a number of potential ideas which included: Screamscape has posted on their Facebook page a number of photos which were sent in from a reader who had captured photos of parts of the track being removed. But the ride was plagued by frequent breakdowns and long lines over the years. 6 trains, with 5 cars. It doesn't appear that there are plans for an extended layout which was originally speculated. August 27, 2021 by Oliver Willis. The 420-foot high roller coaster, which reached speeds of 120 mph, has been closed since Aug. 15, 2021 when Rachel Hawes, 45, of Swartz Creek, Mich., sustained severe brain injuries caused by a. We are devastated by last weekends accident at Cedar Point," the statement said. We will continue to update you on the progress as it happens on our news and Facebook page. [23] An investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) determined that half of the bolts securing the plate dislodged. "This is a very complicated ride," he said. Log In Sign Up. He could not speculate how fast the train was moving when the piece became dislodged but added it was likely at the ride's "maximum" velocity. Top Thrill Dragster is one of Cedar Point's biggest and most popular rides so we originally assumed that Cedar Point would be keen to get the reimagining completed as soon as possible and the ride open again in 2023. Prior to the accident, the Top Thrill Dragster was last inspected by the state on May 14 and no major issues were found. The launch system uses a very geared up motor capable of hitting 5850 rotations per . cshoup@gannett.com. It came, hit the top of one of those things and shot downwards.. Thats what theyre going to do., He added, If they tear it down, it wont be because of this one incident. piece of metal that struck a Cedar Point amusement parkguest, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. WARNING: Some viewers may find this video disturbing. (Cedar Point) Just after 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sandusky police officials received a radio call for an injured female at Cedar. Opinion:Theodore Decker: Cedar Point betrays its customers through silence after amusement park injury, Top Thrill Dragster:Body cam footage shows Cedar Point guest screaming in agony. Top Thrill Dragster fans have been speculating the possibilities over the the last few months of what this reimagining will include and although nothing is still officially confirmed, what we do know for certain is that the hydraulic launch will be replaced by a LSM launch track. Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster Media Story", "Cedar Point To Build Major New Thrill Ride For 2003 Season", "Top Thrill Dragster: Race for the Sky | Cedar Point", "Cedar Point makes good on its bet with 'Top Thrill Cubster' in honor of Chicago Cubs' World Series win over Indians (Video)", "Cedar Point opening day preview: Face masks, social distancing, HalloWeekends and more", "Cedar Point says Top Thrill Dragster, involved in serious accident, will remain closed for 2021", "ODA provides update on Top Thrill Dragster incident", "No laws broken in Cedar Point Top Thrill Dragster mishap that severely injured woman", "Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster, involved in August accident, will remain closed in 2022", "One of Cedar Point's most popular rides will be shut down for the 2022 season", "Cedar Point to retire Top Thrill Dragster", "Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point being retired, officials say", "Cedar Point permanently closing Top Thrill Dragster, world's second-tallest roller coaster", "Cedar Point's newest coaster starting to take shape along the Lake Erie shoreline", "Record Holders (Statistic: Height, Type: Steel)", "Record Holders (Statistic: Speed, Type: Steel)", "Record Holders (Statistic: Drop, Type: Steel)", "Hydraulic launched roller coasters at RCDB", "Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster still closed, undergoing maintenance", "Top Thrill Dragster closed for 2022 season", "Cedar Point is shutting down Top Thrill Dragster for good", "Top Thrill Dragster to be retired from Cedar Point", Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Top_Thrill_Dragster&oldid=1142142857, Articles with dead YouTube links from February 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from January 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day. Press J to jump to the feed. Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio announced on Tuesday it would be permanently closing the Top Thrill Dragster. When it debuted in 2003, Top Thrill Dragster was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, a title it lost in 2005 to a nearly identical ride, Kingda Ka, at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. The park says an announcement will be made later detailinga new and "reimagined" ride experience. [29][30] When it closed, Top Thrill Dragster had accommodated 18million riders over 19 seasons. One eyewitness described it as a metal disc flying through the air; another said it looked like a heavy steel L bracket., Early this week, the Sandusky Police Department released the body camera video from a responding officer, which shows a portion of the emergency response to the incident. Top Thrill Dragster featured a 420-foot-high hill and cars that reached a top speed of 120 mph. . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Investigators said they did not find enough evidence to show that the theme park violated any state laws. The original metal fences have gone from the queue line so it highly likely they are moving the queue which has been assumed from the start. Intamin, however, could still be the ones to convert Top Thrill Dragster but they have now removed the ride from their website which could give clue that they are distancing themselves from the attraction. Four guests riding the coaster were hurt in 2004 when they were struck by metal shards from a metal cable during the launch. People say the view from 130 meters elevation is fantastic. Its the first time something has happened and a person was struck., Martin recently worked with a woman who was injured at an amusement park in California while waiting in line. He identified himself as an off-duty sheriffs deputy. Well this led to theme park fans speculating as to what Cedar Point has got planned. Posted by 8 days ago. 2's right rear lap-bar cylinder soft repair and a lap bar cylinder creep test. Top Thrill Dragster, which opened in 2003, stands 420 feet tall and goes from zero to 120 mph within 3.8 seconds. On Wednesday afternoon, he said the incident is still under investigation. SANDUSKY A female standing in line to ride Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster was taken to a hospital after she was struck by a small metal . The ride goesfrom standstill to 120 mph in just3.8 seconds. The ODA is not recommending any administrative action against Cedar Point. But the ride has remained closed since the August 15, 2021 accident. Park officials did not say if the accident influenced their decision to permanently close the coaster, which has operated for 19 years and drawn 18 million riders. [24] An ODA investigation later determined that half of the bolts securing the plate dislodged. Cedar Point, which has its own police department, has not released the report. The woman named Rachel Hawes was 44 years old and was waiting in the queue of the Trump deal . There was something like this big that came off, he said while holding his hands in a round shape that was about the size of a football. Screamscape has now reported a rumor that Cedar Point is getting ready to start work on the site of the coaster. State inspectors were at Cedar Point immediately following the accident. [33], On July 14, 2004, four people were struck by flying debris while riding the coaster. They added: "Our team is hard at work, creating a new and reimagined ride experience.. [24] ODA found there was "insufficient evidence to find the action or inactions of Cedar Point violated any of the laws" and concluded its investigation in February 2022. According to Rob Decker, Vice President of Planning and Design, the park began working on a new project shortly after the debut of Millennium Force in 2000. I couldnt find anything. The video shows the removal of parts of the track around the loading station. You know its a shame, but you know wild things happen, said William Yohe. Her identity and condition remain unknown. The inspection did, however, find some issues that needed to be upgraded to bring the ride into compliance. Yesterday, Cedar Point announced through a simple video posted to their official twitter page that the reimagined Top Thrill Dragster will return in 2024. And some 19 years and a troubled past later, Cedar Point is retiring the famed Top Thrill Dragster. The park has already announced it will not reopen this year. Please include the title when you click here to report it. [33][15], The roller coaster was themed to Top Fuel drag racing, a category of motor racing that involved the world's fastest accelerating cars. I mean I seen, like, a picture of what that metal was and that was a pretty thick piece of metal to just snap off like that., They sent us a statement that reads in part, Cedar Point has cooperated fully with ODA throughout its investigation into the incident and we will closely review the substance of ODAs report.. Manufactured by Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel, it opened in 2003 as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, as well as the first full-circuit roller coaster to exceed 400 feet (120m) in height. The Top Thrill Dragster gained fame for reaching speeds of 120 mph in just 3.8 seconds. Natalie has always been amazed by theme parks and thinks nothing beats walking around a Disney Park soaking up the sights, sounds and magical atmosphere hand in hand with the ones she loves. It lost both records to Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in May 2005. IAAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, tracks injuries on rides in the United States and Canada. Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It is one of the most popular. On Wednesday, Director of Communications Tony Clark, in response to several questions, provided this statement: Our focus continues to be on the guest and her family. "We want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this time. The news came eight days after the horrifying incident at the Sandusky amusement park that sent people in linescrambling for safety and Hawes seriously injured on Aug. 15. ", More: Multiple people injured on New Jersey Six Flags roller coaster with derailment history, officials say. Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster is being retired - Axios Columbus Columbus Sep 7, 2022 - News So long, Top Thrill Tyler Buchanan Tyler snapped this picture of Top Thrill Dragster's hill while standing in line two weeks before it closed in August 2021. [16][17] Intamin designed both Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster, and the two share a similar design and layout that differs primarily by theme and an additional hill featured on Kingda Ka. Cedar Point is charged with making daily inspections of its rides. At some point in its descent, Miran said, the bracket came in contact with the coaster's track and ripped off from the "green" coaster train and struck the woman in the head while she was waiting in line. Facebook. User account menu. There have been recent rumors that Cedar Point could increase the theming of both the rollercoaster itself and the surrounding area. Top Thrill Dragster reaches a height of 420 feet (130 . We've received your submission. There was a ton of people around her so I dont know if someone picked something up.. Dodonpa held the record previously with a top speed of 107mph (172km/h). Click link to read full story. The state on Monday released the one-page initialincident report, which identified the victim as Hawes ofSwartz Creek, Michigan, near Flint. The bracket which was attached by bolts is supposed to hover just over the trackand a series of sensors that keeps tabs on the coaster as it makes its way at breakneck speed up and over a 420-foot-tall hill in 17 seconds. the last judgement materials used, thermal suite royal caribbean allure of the seas,