Horrifying cellphone footage shows a man climbing out of his seat on a rollercoaster when he realized his safety bar had been unlocked.
The incident happened on Sunday at Castles N’ Coasters amusement park in Phoenix, Arizona.
The man, who identified himself only as Ricky, was seen making his daring exit from the Desert Storm roller coaster, right at the top of the ride, just before the massive drop.
Ricky, who was in the park with his family, told the story TODAY the person operating the roller coaster did not check the lap bars before sending the riders up. As they went up, he heard his bar click and then felt it unlock.
“We were about to reach the top when that happened, so I had a split decision to either stay on the roller coaster and hope I would stay on it or get off,” he said.
Ricky chose to jump from his seat to the catwalk to his left, just before the roller coaster plunged into the two 360 degree loops in front of him.
He then climbed down the stairs to get back to the ground.
“I’m thankful it was me because if it was one of the 10 or 11 year olds going through this, I don’t know if they would have jumped off a moving roller coaster to save themselves,” Ricky said. .
Ricky is seen on video as Desert Storm approaches the edge of the drop
At the last moment, he jumps out of his chair onto the catwalk and descends the stairs to safety
Pictured: A loop in the Desert Storm ride that Ricky would have had to endure had he not escaped before the drop
“Luckily I’m here to tell my story, and all I can do is try to raise awareness,” Ricky added.
DailyMail.com approached Castles N’ Coasters for comment. The company has not yet resolved the incident.
The same ride at the same amusement park stopped functioning three years ago, in May 2021.
The roller coaster stopped, leaving 22 passengers suspended six meters above the ground for two hours after the roller coaster became stuck on the horizontal loop.
The Phoenix Fire Department had to be called and rescue crews were able to use a 30-foot ladder to get the riders to safety.
Terrifying footage showed passengers being taken to safety via ladders resting against the rails.
This photo shows emergency responders rescuing people trapped on a roller coaster at Castles N’ Coasters on Saturday
The Phoenix Fire Department said the ride stalled Saturday, leaving riders 20 feet off the ground
In California, a similar incident happened a little over a week ago at the Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park.
The Sol Spin ride was brought to an abrupt halt around 2pm on Monday, leaving thrill seekers to dangle until they were evacuated at 4.30pm.
A total of 22 people were stuck in the air. While some remained on their sides, no one was left upside down.
The Sol Spin attraction consists of six waving arms that are up to six stories high and rotate 360 degrees.
After being rescued, riders were seen stretching their backs and limbs after sitting in uncomfortable positions for hours.
Some were hunched over and had difficulty walking, while others were placed in wheelchairs after leaving the ride.
The Sol Spin ride at Knott’s Berry Farm was brought to an abrupt halt around 2pm on Monday, leaving thrill seekers to fend for themselves.
After being rescued, riders were seen stretching their backs and limbs after sitting in uncomfortable positions for hours
Three teenagers, two brothers and their cousin, who were visiting the park for a birthday party, were among those stuck during the ride.
“It spun around twice and when we got to the top it stopped,” said 14-year-old Yandel Espinoza KABC.
“Then it shut down and we got stuck there and panicked. We felt like we were going to die.”
Espinoza’s 13-year-old cousin, Jaedyn Cannon, said, “We were in a strange position. We were like that, sideways.”
Cannon’s mother told the local news station that Knott’s Berry Farm offered them free passes to make up for the incident, but they turned them down.
“I feel like employees should have let us know, ‘Hey, I was going to go see if you have any extra kids to make sure they’re safe,’ and they didn’t do any of that,” Monique Cannon said .