Current:Home > InvestSignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:A roller coaster was shut down after a crack was found in a support beam. A customer says he spotted it. -MoneyStream
SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:A roller coaster was shut down after a crack was found in a support beam. A customer says he spotted it.
Robert Brown View
Date:2025-04-08 04:01:25
An amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina, closed one of its roller coasters Friday after a crack was found on a support beam.
Carowinds shut down Fury 325, which the park's website advertises as the "tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America" that crosses into both North Carolina and South Carolina.
Video of the ride showed the crack in the beam as cars packed with riders whizzed by.
Park patron Jeremy Wagner told CBS Charlotte, N.C. affiliate WBTV he was the one who spotted the crack and took the video.
He said he was waiting for his kids to finish one last ride on the coaster when, "I look up and I see a light come through the pole."
When the next car came by, he pulled out his phone and videoed it.
Wagner told WBTV what he saw when he played it back sent a shock through his chest.
"When the car came by," he said, "I saw (the beam) move."
Posted by Jeremy Wagner on Friday, June 30, 2023
(Credit: Jeremy Wagner via Storyful)
He told The New York Times that as he was shooting the video, "My hands were shaking because I knew how quick this could be catastrophic."
Wagner told WBTV he immediately showed the video to park security to have them shut the ride but didn't get a clear answer on whether park officials would. But Wagner eventually called the fire department and learned that his video did indeed prompt the shutdown of the Fury.
"My heart was like relieved because I was just afraid ... are they gonna do the right thing? I just didn't want to see something bad happen," he remarked to WBTV.
"It takes one time, just one time" for tragedy to strike, he said.
Tiffany Collins Newton told CBS News that on June 24, she took a photo that appeared to show "the beginnings of the crack" on the roller coaster. She said she did not notice the crack until after the ride was closed on Friday and she zoomed in on her recent photos.
The park said in a statement that it shut the ride "after park personnel became aware of a crack at the top of a steel support pillar. The park's maintenance team is conducting a thorough inspection and the ride will remain closed until repairs have been completed. Safety is our top priority and we appreciate the patience and understanding of our valued guests during this process.
"As part of our comprehensive safety protocols," the statement continued, "all rides, including Fury 325, undergo daily inspections to ensure their proper functioning and structural integrity."
Fury 325 first opened to the public in 2015 and cost approximately $30 million to build, according to news reports.
Carowinds didn't say how long repairs would take. The rest of the park will remain open.
State officials said they were going to inspect the ride Monday.
veryGood! (797)
Related
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Edwin Moses documentary ’13 Steps’ shows how clearing the hurdles was the easy part for a track icon
- What to make of the Pac-12, Georgia? Who wins Week 4 showdowns? College Football Fix discusses
- YouTuber Aspyn Ovard Reveals Whether She'd Get Married Again After Parker Ferris Split
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Bachelorette: Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Was Arrested, Had Restraining Order From Ex-Girlfriend in Past
- The Secret Service again faces scrutiny after another gunman targets Trump
- Billie Eilish tells fans to vote for Kamala Harris 'like your life depends on it, because it does'
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Did You Know Earth Is Set to Have Another Moon in Its Orbit? Here's What That Means
Ranking
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Now a Roe advocate, woman raped by stepfather as a child tells her story in Harris campaign ad
- What to know about the pipeline fire burning for a third day in Houston’s suburbs
- Phoenix could finally break its streak of 100-degree days
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Mississippi program aims to connect jailed people to mental health services
- Jamie-Lynn Sigler Shares Son Beau, 11, Has No Memory of Suffering Rare Illness
- 3 dead in wrong-way crash on busy suburban Detroit highway
Recommendation
Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
Billie Eilish tells fans to vote for Kamala Harris 'like your life depends on it, because it does'
Eagles' Nick Sirianni explains why he didn't address players following loss to Falcons
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ indictment alleges he used power to build empire of sexual crime
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
'Heartbreaking': Mass. police recruit dies after getting knocked out in training exercise
Bachelorette: Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Was Arrested, Had Restraining Order From Ex-Girlfriend in Past
Tallulah Willis Details Painful Days Amid Dad Bruce Willis' Health Battle