A horrified visitor gives the alert: “You have to close this roller coaster!”
A North Carolina amusement park had to shut down one of its roller coasters after a customer spotted a massive crack in one of the main pillars.
PostedJuly 4, 2023, 7:29 PM
Jeremy Wagner was struck by the lack of responsiveness of park staff.
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Jeremy Wagner was having a great day at Carowinds Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday. The American was accompanied by his 14-year-old daughter, his 13-year-old son, his 12-year-old niece and a friend of his son, also 13. As Jeremy told the «Washington Post»the kids rode the Fury 325 several times, a rollercoaster that the park touts as “the tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster in North America.”
At the end of the day, Jeremy left the site to pick up his car in the parking lot and bring it closer to the entrance. He then returned to the park, where the children were waiting for him. It was then that he spotted a serious problem on the Fury 325: one of the attraction’s steel pillars was cracked, even severed, and wobbled dangerously with each passing car. After filming the scene, which went viral on social media, Jeremy alerted an employee: “You need to close this ride. It’s going to end badly,” he told her.
Faced with the wait-and-see attitude of his interlocutor, the visitor contacted other members of staff, who did not seem particularly worried. “What struck me was the lack of sense of urgency,” he says. According to him, the attraction could have “spinned out of control and raced through the parking lot like a steamroller, crushing pedestrians, cars and anything in its path.” Jeremy’s warning paid off: the park closed last Friday and the Fury 325 is out of service until further notice.
“The park’s maintenance team is performing a thorough inspection and the attraction will remain closed until repairs are complete,” said Courtney Weber, the park’s communications manager. Jeremy, on the other hand, struggled to overcome his dread on the way back, unable to help but imagine the worst. But about ten minutes later, a firefighter called him to tell him that the attraction had just closed. Concern giving way to relief, Jeremy assures us that he will let his children get back on board the Fury 325 after repairs. “It will surely be even better, safer than it was before,” he rejoices.
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2023-07-04 17:29:34
#horrified #visitor #alert #close #roller #coaster
