HERSHEY, Pa. — Hersheypark said Tuesday it is consulting industry experts about its Candymonium roller coaster after a man was thrown to his death from the same type of ride at Six Flags Over Georgia.
The Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard built both coasters, and parks across the U.S. and Canada have closed similar rides since Monday’s death. As of Wednesday, Hersheypark had not said whether Candymonium will run when the park reopens at 5 p.m. Friday, according to its calendar.
“Candymonium shares a manufacturer and ride type with the coaster involved in Georgia, but each of these rides is custom-built to its own specifications,” Hersheypark said in a statement. “Information about what happened in Georgia, and why, is not yet available.”
The park said it will work with the manufacturer as more information comes in and will decide on its ride operations before Friday.
For Lehigh Valley riders, the closest coaster Six Flags has shut down is Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. Dorney Park in South Whitehall Township, which Six Flags owns, is not among the six parks where the company temporarily closed coasters.
Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, of Atlanta, was thrown from his seat on the Goliath coaster Monday, Cobb County police said. Early interviews with witnesses and park workers show he struck other patrons before falling beneath the ride, police said. Several people were injured.
Investigators have not said how he exited his seat.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. said it temporarily closed nine similar coasters at six of its parks “out of an abundance of caution.” Six Flags Over Georgia said it will reopen Friday, the same day as Hersheypark, but Goliath will stay closed.
Other parks have followed. SeaWorld Orlando said its Mako coaster, built by the same manufacturer, is temporarily closed. La Ronde in Montreal said it closed its own Goliath for a safety review with the manufacturer and will not reopen it until the review is done.
Bolliger & Mabillard said it is “actively investigating the incident and will not comment further until we have a better understanding of what happened.”
Georgia’s Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, which oversees ride inspections, said it is investigating and will share its findings when the investigation ends.
Hersheypark lists Candymonium at 210 feet tall with a top speed of 76 mph.