Goliath death puts Georgia’s ride inspectors to the test

Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem came out of his seat on Goliath and fell. Witnesses at Six Flags Over Georgia watched the 42-year-old Atlanta man strike the coaster and other riders before he dropped beneath the ride Monday at about 4 p.m., about 10 miles west of downtown Atlanta.

Nick Mendenhall told the TODAY show he had ridden the same coaster with his son ten minutes earlier. “He came up out of his car, he was in his seat, and went forward and just came down headfirst,” Mendenhall said. “It was in slow motion. And there was a moment where I was like, ‘God just let this man stay in that cart.’ It all happened so fast.” Logan Conner, riding with his fiancé, described the same instant in starker terms: “The man started levitating in the air sideways. We made direct eye contact with him.”

A witness’s souvenir photo captured Kariem mid-fall. Others said he hit the car three times and landed on the roof of a haunted house attraction below. The train paused mid-ride. Riders had to walk down a steep incline to get off. When officers arrived, Kariem was unresponsive beneath the attraction. The Cobb County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating. Preliminary findings from witness and employee interviews state he was “ejected from the ride and struck other patrons before falling beneath the attraction.” Several other people were injured; the exact number remains unclear. Authorities have not determined the cause.

Goliath opened in 2006. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers of Switzerland, it drops more than 200 feet and reaches speeds of at least 70 mph. It is a hyper coaster, the kind of high-speed steel ride. That is what makes the failure concrete. A restraint, a lap bar, a seat, or an inspection step either held or it did not. The ordinary American who paid for a ticket expected the hardware and the oversight to work.

Wesley International Academy, an Atlanta Public Schools charter school for kindergarten through eighth grade, told families the loss would be felt across its community. “We know this news is heartbreaking and difficult to process. Mr. Kariem was a valued member of our Wesley family, and his loss will be deeply felt throughout our school community,” the school’s leadership wrote. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, colleagues, students, and all those whose lives he touched.” The district identified him as a member of that community. The record does not further specify his role beyond that school statement and later reporting that he worked there.

Six Flags said it was deeply saddened and offered condolences. The company temporarily closed nine similar coasters across parks in the United States and Canada out of an abundance of caution, among them Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure, Behemoth and Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland, Fury 325 and Thunder Striker at Carowinds, and Orion and Diamondback at Kings Island, along with rides at Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Montreal’s La Ronde separately closed its own Goliath for a safety review with the manufacturer. Parks have not announced reopening timelines. A Six Flags spokesperson said the company is committed to rigorous inspection, maintenance, and safety procedures that meet or exceed industry standards and called guest and associate safety its highest priority. The firm says it is cooperating with authorities. Fox News headlined attorney reaction as the company investigated the fatal incident.

In Georgia the statutory duty sits with the Insurance and Fire Safety commissioner. That office inspects, permits, and regulates amusement parks. The core idea is simple: limited government still has a few non-negotiable jobs, and keeping paying customers from falling out of a 200-foot machine is one of them. Taxpayers fund the inspectors. Families rely on the permit. Free enterprise depends on a rules framework that is clear, enforced, and not politicized after the fact.

John King, the incumbent commissioner, addressed the death as the investigation began. “Our very professional inspectors have inspected every one of those before the park season even started, and they’re currently on the ground looking at every nook and cranny, conducting interviews and conducting a thorough review of what happened,” King said. “Clearly, this is one of our primary duties when it comes to safety.” He declined broad conclusions while the probe runs: “It’s a little premature to be making a whole lot of comments about this. Obviously, this is an ongoing investigation. But I look forward to being able to report back to the Georgia public that these rides are safe, they will continue to be safe, and we will continue inspecting them from top to bottom.”

Keisha Waites, his Democratic challenger, made the opposing case during an Atlanta Press Club debate. She said Six Flags Over Georgia was set to reopen Friday and argued, “Prior to that opening, I would ensure that all of the amusement park rides have been inspected thoroughly ... to make sure that this will never happen again in Georgia.” She added that she would have ensured “there’s an inspection at that particular facility as time permits, in addition to that, to ensure that any challenges that we’ve had in the past, that they were investigated thoroughly.”