Teen Decapitated In Six Flags Accident

Teen Struck By Batman Roller Coaster After Entering Restricted Area

(AP)  A teenager was decapitated by a roller coaster after he hopped a pair of fences and entered a restricted area Saturday at Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park, authorities said.

Six Flags officials are uncertain why the unidentified 17-year-old from Columbia, South Carolina, scaled two 6-foot fences and passed signs that said the restricted area was both off-limits and dangerous to visitors, spokeswoman Hela Sheth said in a news release.

Authorities were investigating reports from witnesses who said the teenager jumped the fences to retrieve a hat he lost while riding the Batman roller coaster, said Cobb County police Sgt. Dana Pierce. Three security guards were keeping visitors away from the ride on Saturday.

Police said the ride was going full-speed when the teen was struck. The ride's top speed is 50 mph, according to the Six Flags Web site.

No one riding on the roller coaster was injured, Sheth said. The teen's friend also entered the restricted area but was not injured, Pierce said.

The teen and his parents were at the park with a group from the Oakey Spring Baptist Church near Springfield, South Carolina, police said.

In June 2007, a teenager's legs were severed when cables snapped on the Superman Tower of Power ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky. Doctors were able to reattach Kaitlyn Lasitter's right foot, but she had to have some of her left leg amputated and subsequent surgeries.

State officials blame a faulty cable and slow response by an amusement park ride operator in the accident. Her family is suing Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, claiming the park failed to maintain the ride and equipment and ensure riders' safety. The amusement park has denied liability in court filings.

[boston1954]

I am sorry to hear that someone has died, but gee whiz, two 6ft fences and signs to tell him of danger....What was he thinking??

[rational_1]

I am sorry to hear that someone has died, but gee whiz, two 6ft fences and signs to tell him of danger....What was he thinking??
Posted by Boston1954 at 08:26 PM : Jun 28, 2008

That''s exactly what was going through my mind as I read the article - what was he thinking? Just goes to show you that if you do one particularly stupid thing at the wrong time, it''s game over.

[xraytwonine]

man, just get a new hat, this is just sad

[smurfcrusher]

Evolution at Work

[howdy258]

I am sorry to hear that someone has died, but gee whiz, two 6ft fences and signs to tell him of danger....What was he thinking??

He was thinking what just about every 17 year old out there is thinking - I''m 17 and I''m invincible, nothing''s going to happen to ME

[staycalm]

this is why 18 is too young to be considered an adult. They do incredibly stupid things because they think they''re invulnerable and their brain is not completely formed yet. No one should be considered an adult until they''re 21. My heart goes out to his poor parents...this must have been the worst nightmare in the world for them.

[Wookiee-1138]

Not to sound callous, but that may be worth a darwin award.

[sociald63]

hey griking & skyfive - that''s he-l-luvfunny ... unfortunately, the idiot''s family will hire a lawyer

[cdfoxtrot]

I guess he wasn''t using his head, so he probably won''t miss it.

[irliberal]

Is he still tall enough to get on the ride?

[cdfoxtrot]

hey griking & skyfive - that''''s he-l-luvfunny ... unfortunately, the idiot''''s family will hire a lawyer

Posted by sociald63

You can bet on it. They''ll argue that six foot fences aren''t high enough. And there were only two of them. And not enough signs. And why wasn''t someone there to give his his hat back? No wonder it''s so expensive to get into those places.

[skalpakian]

Since he was part of a Baptist church group, do you think his family will just say it was God''s will and be done with it?


I don''t think so either.

[ingram102]

This is such a sad and horrible thing that has happened to this young man.How can some of you people be so heartless in your comments?

It''s easier to buy a new hat...lesson learned.

Stupid is as stupid does.

"This is such a sad and horrible thing that has happened to this young man.How can some of you people be so heartless in your comments??" Posted by ingram102 at 09:38 PM : Jun 28, 2008


Maybe because we all still HAVE our heads. Darwin was a wise man!

[nothappyatall]

Six Flags officials are uncertain why the unidentified 17-year-old from Columbia, South Carolina, scaled two 6-foot fences and passed signs that said the restricted area was both off-limits and dangerous to visitors,"

Stupid parents breed stupid children and here''s a good example of it. Oh well, I guess he won''t be doing THAT again!

"the teen and his parents were at the park with a group from the Oakey Spring Baptist Church "

Hmmm, musta been his god''s "will" you know, his big "plan" that the religious reich always defends and lays claim to. He left here in 2 pieces and I guess was re-joined right on gezus''lap where he landed LOL

[nothappyatall]

It''''s easier to buy a new hat...lesson learned.

Stupid is as stupid does.
Posted by RJMay3

LOL yeah but he can''t come back after learning that lesson.

[ingram102]

RJMay3, would you be joking about this if it had been a member of your family?

"Wow, you must be so proud of yourselves laughing at other misfortune.

What a bunch of obnoxious jerks Americans are.


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Posted by jumkey at 09:28 PM : Jun 28, 2008"

Did you bother to read the WHOLE article? This kid went to great efforts to risk his life for a hat. Had this been someone I knew, I''d make the same type of comments, ridiculing the thought process, or lack there of. I''m just greatful that his carelessness didn''t take anyone else with him. THAT would be tragic.

[cdfoxtrot]

Is he still tall enough to get on the ride?

Posted by IRLiberal

I vote this one the funniest of the lot. Best laugh in a while.

[cdfoxtrot]

RJMay3, would you be joking about this if it had been a member of your family?

Posted by ingram102

I doubt that a memeber of his/her family would do something so incredibly dumb.

[incog-nito]

You don''t mess with the Batman.

RJMay3, would you be joking about this if it had been a member of your family?


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Posted by ingram102 at 09:49 PM : Jun 28, 2008


ABSOLUTELY! Maybe not so much at the wake, but YES! My gene pool has plenty of common sense when it comes to such gain/loss scenarios, so I highly doubt it would be a relative. Not that we don''t make mistakes or take risks, but it''s a no-brainer that you don''t put yourself into that situation......may I point to Exhibit A to make my point?

[beeeeeeeball]

IT''s funny to me how people bash GOD fearing people on this planet.I think they think they are the chosen to live here forever and those that died before them had bad luck.But here''s the thing...if allowed? their last seconds will be "oh God no" but the thing about that is... God will not give most time to think!

[cjs4870]

...And the kick is up...............

.......AND IT GOOD!!!!!
Was anyone stupid enough to scale those 2 fences to get his head?
Which makes you wonder how far his head flew. Maybe it actually flew off into one of those crazy carnie booths & knocked over those stupid stacked up milk bottles. Hope he won a big prize...maybe a new hat?

[smurfcrusher]

"Wow, you must be so proud of yourselves laughing at other misfortune.

What a bunch of obnoxious jerks Americans are."

Posted by jumkey


Laughing? Who said anything about laughing? Do you think this is funny?

[pete_in_az]

No doubt about it, this qualifies for a Darwin award.

[incog-nito]

What was he thinking? He must have lost his head.

I did like the "you must be this high" and the "not needing the hat now" jokes. Those were pretty humorous, even AFTER you consider the situation. The only part that I feel bad about is the poor people who had to witness the "DOH!" moment.

[smurfcrusher]

There can be only ONE!!

[honestabe8]

IT''''s funny to me how people bash GOD fearing people on this planet posted by beeeeeeeball

what has that to do with this topic? are you one of those christians who feel that they are suffering for jesus?

[smurfcrusher]

Was anyone stupid enough to scale those 2 fences to get his head?
Which makes you wonder how far his head flew. Maybe it actually flew off into one of those crazy carnie booths & knocked over those stupid stacked up milk bottles. Hope he won a big prize...maybe a new hat?

Posted by cjs4870 at 10:01 PM


50 MPH is pretty fast... it probably got stuck in the fence like a tennis ball.

[gmond]

No holy roller coaster jokes?

[smurfcrusher]

onlythereal.... Hmmm? who said anything about hating Christians? Or perhaps you think that if someone''s funny, they can''t possibly be Christian?

The REAL tragedy of this story is that no one will read between the lines that kids today are lacking in safety skills, not only for this extreme situation, but for something as simple as having a helmet while riding a skateboard. I can''t tell you all how many times I''ve seen kids performing stunts without a stitch of safety equipment. Adding insult to injury, they also ride in the middle of streets and intersections, oblivious to oncoming traffic. This is just one area where kids are sorely lacking judgment skills. Parents, mentors...... use this article as a wake-up call.

[incog-nito]

Will they be flying the six flags at half staff tomorrow?

[mcv57]

It will settle out of court. The boy had no business trespassing into a hazardeous area, regardless if the coaster had a malfunction or not.

But politics does not know justice.

"Isnt it ironic that the same people who make sick jokes about the death of a young boy are the very same ones that hate Christians." Posted by onlythereal at 10:15 PM : Jun 28, 2008


When did I mention either Christianity or faith? It''s pretty smug of you to preach and run!

[sgtrds-e4]

What an idiot!

[pleaseread]

Guess he will get to see Jesus, wonder if he will be reunited with his hat in heaven?

The park should sue the family and the church for loss of profits, when it had to shut stuff down for this individual''s lack of common sense. Clearly, they won''t, but from what I glean from the article, the park did NOTHING wrong.

[loneeagle57]

Thoughts on this:
1. Don''t try to cross batman.
2. keep a cool head.
3 when the sign says danger, this means YOU!
4 Oops.
5 for the record Batman never could fly.
I will admit i have a sick mind. AND YES if it were my family (lord knows they have done some really stupid ***) I would and will say the same about them

[toldyouso12]

Somebody should have done a better job of raising their kids. If the boy had been trained correctly, he would have not entered any restricted area no matter what, would have told park officials about the hat, and arranged to collect it the next day or later that night after clean up. A lot of parents let their kids go hog wild, riding up and down in hotel elevators, running through malls, grocery stores and restaurants, kicking chairs at the cinema and on air planes, swinging on stair bannisters, standing up on swings and shopping carts---in short--no manners and no adult to train them how to behave in public. This is a sad story--but there is a silver lining, anyone else with youngsters better catch a clue--you raise and train your children to survive in and participate in the real world--NOT to be your entertainment, buddy or trophy. To do that, you have to teach decorum, manners, and discipline from day 1.

[loneeagle57]

well at least now he won''t need that blasted hat.

[brnofeathers]

Sounds like a "Darwin Award" finalist to me!

[stupidkills]

I feel sorry for all the people who had to witness this,but i have an eight year old and i asked him what he would''ve done.Without any hesitation, he said he would not have jumped the fences and found someone that worked there to get it back for him.I guess that his parents didn''t teach him right from wrong.They put signs up for a reason.It is his and his parents fault and not the parks.I think if anyone should get sued it would have to be the parents of the kid for the trauma their son caused the patrons of the park.

[bubbabear200]

From what I understand that girl from Kentucky who was at the Super Man Tower Of Power at six flags whos legs were severed was in court last week trying to sue Six Flags.
The judge threw out the case saying she didnt have a leg to stand on.
TEEHEE,TEEHEE

[loneeagle57]

Superman, Batman, holy c r. ap MUST BE A SUPERHERO THING.

Upon further reflection, it hit me that this kid was 17...driving age in most states. If he has such poor lack of judgment at an amusement park, what was he like behind the wheel? I can find some solace that he only managed to take himself out of the picture, where on the streets, the situation could have been much worse.

Superman, Batman, holy c r. ap MUST BE A SUPERHERO THING.


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Posted by loneeagle57 at 10:53 PM : Jun 28, 2008


.....and we all get yelled at for emulating the Joker.