Six Flags death, The investigation of the death of a woman on a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas will be led by Six Flags itself, because there's no state or federal agency responsible for enforcing the safety of amusement parks.
Rosy Esparza of Dallas died Friday night when she fell from the Texas Giant, which is billed as the world's steepest wooden roller coaster.
Rosy Esparza of Dallas died Friday night when she fell from the Texas Giant, which is billed as the world's steepest wooden roller coaster.
Six Flags initially said in a statement that it was "working with authorities" to figure out what happened. But it later had to admit that it was running the investigation itself because there are no authorities to work with.
No federal agency has legal authority to enforce safety standards. And Texas is one of at least 17 states that have no agency responsible for inspecting amusement park rides, according to NBC News' survey of state codes in all 50 states.
While he was previously in the House, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced legislation every congressional session to establish federal regulation of amusement park rides beginning in 1999. But the measure never passed.
Markey renewed his call Sunday for federal regulation of "roller coasters that hurdle riders at extreme speeds along precipitous drops."
"A baby stroller is subject to tougher federal regulation than a roller coaster carrying a child in excess of 100 miles per hour," Markey said in a statement. "This is a mistake."
The Texas Giant, a 14-story-high, 4,900-feet-long roller coaster that is among the premier attractions at the park in Arlington, Texas, remains closed until Six Flags concludes its investigation, a park spokeswoman said. The park gave no timetable for reporting any information.
Nadine Kelley, who had been waiting in line for the ride Friday night, told NBC 5 of Dallas that riders who were sitting behind the woman said that "right when they came down off the first bump and hit that first turn, she flew out."
The woman was accompanied by two children, who were "hysterical," Kelley said. "They were saying that their mother flew out of the car."
"It was sad. It was very sad," she said. "We kept telling them to let them out because they were hysterical. The daughter and the son said, 'We have to go get my mom. We have to go get my mom.' We were kind of in disbelief, and we just said a prayer for her."
Alfred Cannon, Esparza's next-door neighbor, said Esparza was "an incredible mother to those kids."
Read more
Posts
