The Rolling Thunder rollercoaster at the Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, United States has had multiple safety incidents.
On August 16, 1981, Scott Tyler, a 20-year-old park employee from Middletown Township, New Jersey, fell to his death from the Rolling Thunder roller coaster during a routine test run. An investigation by the New Jersey Labor Department concluded that the man may not have secured himself with the safety bar. A park representative later confirmed this conclusion, saying that the employee "may have assumed an unauthorized riding position that did not make use of safety restraints." The ride was inspected, and the Labor Department concluded that the ride was "operationally and mechanically sound." [1]
On August 29, 1981, a 19-year-old woman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was found to have been slumped over in her seat when the train returned to the station. She was taken to Freehold Area Hospital where she was pronounced dead after arrival. An autopsy revealed that she choked to death from aspiration of gastric contents during the time when riding the coaster. [2]
On May 7, 1983, six people, including 36-year-old Sharlene Subbiondo and her 7-year-old son, were injured when a coaster train failed to stop at the loading platform and collided with another that was heading up the lift. The ride was modified a year later in order to prevent the train from entering the station until the one ahead of it cleared the lift. [3]
On August 6, 1990, 19-year-old Kurt Koester from New Providence, New Jersey, suffered severe injuries and remained in critical condition at CentraState Medical Center after falling 50 feet (15 m) from the ride. Police and park officials claimed that he and another person that were both on board the train they were sitting in tried to stand up when it curved around part of its track. The ride remained closed until being fully inspected by state officials to make sure that it was up and running again as usual. [4]