A man was stuck and killed by a roller coaster at Cedar Point in Ohio
Early Thursday evening in Sandusky, Ohio a Cedar Point patron was killed by a roller coaster.
James A. Young II from East Canton, Ohio was at a Cedar Point park all day when he decided to board the Raptor ride with friends around 5pm. But on his way onto the ride, Sandusky police report that he was said to have lost track of some of his belongings, causing him to not board the ride, according to CNN.
Assistant Police Chief Phil Frost said that he then “jumped over a fence into a restricted area under the Raptor and was looking for his personal belongings. (He) was struck by the Raptor train that was in operation.”
Young, 45, was instantly killed by the impact and was reported to be the only person injured in the incident.
According to Cedar Point spokesman Bryan Edwards, “Park safety officials responded immediately to the situation. Unfortunately, the guest has passed away.”
Cedar Point is one of the top attractions in north-central Ohio, located on the shores of Lake Erie. The park has been open for 146 and has attracted visitors from around the nation, and globe. On record, it is the second oldest continually operated amusement park in North America.
One of the biggest draws of the park is the large numbers of roller coasters. Although visitors enjoy all the attractions that Cedar Point has to offer, they have boasting rights of having more than 10 miles of roller coaster tracks. They have also been referred to often as the “Roller Coaster Capital of the World.”
The Raptor, where Young was killed, is one of the 17 roller coasters in the park. It reaches speeds of 57 mph. At the time it struck and killed Young, Frost was unable to say exactly how fast the coaster was going at that time.