Riders on a Six Flags Over Georgia roller coaster where a teacher plunged to his death heard a “weird clicking,” and staff checked their restraints “multiple times” before the disaster, witnesses said.
“It would unlock and lock, unlock and lock. It kept clicking like it was unlocking and re-locking,” a woman who was in the car told WSB-TV, after watching 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem fly out from his seat on the Goliath roller coaster on Monday.
“It was like a horror movie.” A couple on Goliath as a man fell off and died at Six Flags Over Georgia describe the restraints making a strange sound before man “ejected.” >>> https://t.co/cpfVEDynJ4 pic.twitter.com/w4iBmhBj8C
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) October 13, 2026
“Every time it would click they would come by and push down on the restraint…they triple and quadruple checked,” her companion, a man, told the outlet.
More coverage on the Six Flags death in Georgia
- Six Flags’ Goliath coaster restraints were ‘clicking weird’ before Hassan Kariem’s death: riders
- Six Flags shares drop 16% to lowest level since 2009 after man dies plunging from roller coaster
- Six Flags shuts down iconic California roller coaster after horrific death in Georgia park
- Six Flags dad who died on ‘Goliath’ coaster was beloved teacher — riders disclose disturbing detail of his fall
The pair said they had ridden that roller coaster many times and staff usually checked the restraints just once unless there was a problem.
It remains unclear if there was a problem with Kariem’s restraints or if staff gave his seat extra attention before he was flung off the 70 mph rollercoaster mid-ride.
