STORY YOUMISSED
Police have identified the victim of a fatal accident at Six Flags Over Georgia as 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem of Atlanta.
Kariem fell to his death after being ejected from his seat during an incident involving a rollercoaster at the theme park.
Several other individuals were also injured in the tragic incident.
Although authorities and Six Flags officials did not officially identify the specific rollercoaster involved, video footage from the scene showed passengers being safely evacuated from the park’s Goliath coaster.
Outside of the theme park, Kariem was widely known as a dedicated father and an educator in Atlanta, Georgia.
According to Atlanta Public Schools, Kariem began his career at Wesley International Academy as a technology teacher before earning a promotion to an IT manager.
A spokesperson for Atlanta Public Schools shared a statement with the Guardian expressing deep sorrow over the loss.
“Atlanta Public Schools extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Mr. Kariem,” the statement read.
“He was a cherished member of the Wesley International Academy and APS families whose presence and impact will be deeply missed by our students, staff, and all those whose lives he touched,” the spokesperson added.
Wesley International Academy did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the tragedy.
Relatives of Kariem spoke with 11Alive’s Chase Houle to share details about his resilient life journey, noting that he had successfully overcome numerous major challenges, including two separate bouts of cancer.
His final battle with cancer occurred in 2018.
Additionally, family members revealed that Kariem and his 10-year-old daughter had miraculously survived a terrifying car fire just three weeks prior to the accident.
Fortunately, both were completely unharmed in that vehicle incident.
Following the fatal fall, the Cobb County Police Department’s major crimes unit launched a comprehensive active investigation into the circumstances surrounding Kariem’s death.
At the time of reports, authorities had not yet determined what specifically led to the fatal accident.
It remained unclear how the other victims sustained their injuries or what their current medical conditions were.
In the wake of Kariem’s death, Six Flags took precautionary measures by temporarily closing nine rollercoasters across six different amusement parks nationwide.
This incident arrived less than two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California announced the permanent closure of its famous X2 rollercoaster.
That permanent closure followed lawsuits alleging severe brain injuries caused by the ride.
The Southern California park had previously settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought forward by the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding that specific coaster in 2022.
Rollercoaster safety has faced additional scrutiny following other recent theme park tragedies.
Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt impact injuries after riding a high-speed rollercoaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida, with his death officially ruled accidental.
According to local Atlanta news stations, Six Flags Over Georgia was already closed due to its standard offseason schedule at the time of the incident and was originally expected to reopen on a Friday.
