The Firehawk roller coaster was closed after a man died on Saturday.
On Saturday, August 8, 2009 a man with breathing problems died after riding the Firehawk attraction at Kings Island in Ohio.
According to a press release from park spokesman Don Helbig, at 3:30 p.m. Firehawk ride attendants noticed an adult male passenger having problems breathing. Emergency medical staff were called immediately. The guest was then transported by the local fire department to an area hospital.
Kings Island has voluntarily closed down the ride and will have a re-inspection of the ride performed by the state of Ohio.
According to Helbig, the ride was operating normally and that there have been no incidents on the ride since its 2007 opening.
For more information on the ride and the park, visit Kings Island. For further information, visit Dayton Daily News.
Tags: Death, Firehawk, Kings Island
Whoa. I wonder what happened. I'm sure we'll get answers, but it's pretty crazy anyway.
That heavy bib could feel weird at times. At least this guy wasn't try to wiggle out of the restraint like that guy did on Shockwave at KD years ago. The weirdness floats over from KD to KI. Anything that happens like this is very unfortunate of course. It's sad.
Pre-existing medical condition??
The way I felt like I was falling out of those dumb restraints, the guy could have freaked out on the ride and by the time he was back in the station...well you know the rest.
I might be one of the few people who doesn't have a problem with the Vekoma flying coaster restraints. In some ways, I prefer them over B&M.
It's a shame for the man who died and his family. Glad to hear though that it wasn't due to any malfunction and nobody else had any incident or problem.
It's amazing the body roll sway on that rubber restraint going through an inline or corkscrew. The B&M bib I prefer.
^^ The restraints don't hurt me or anything, but the ones on Firehawk made me feel like I was falling out of them. Whereas Nighthawk and Batwing feel a lot more secure.
I bet being on your back on the brake run doesn't help.
Firehawk is open again. Opened today in the afternoon. http://www.wlwt.com/news/20331491/detail.html