Terrified riders were stuck on a roller coaster at a major California theme park for three hours after it broke down mid-cycle.
The Sol Spin ride at Knott’s Berry Farm 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.
ABC7 news helicopter footage showed the 102-year-old theme park’s technical crew being hoisted into cranes to repair the broken attraction around 3:30 p.m.
Two female riders were taken to the hospital “out of an abundance of caution,” a spokesperson told the LA Times.
KTLA reported that several people limped away, while at least one was carried in a wheelchair.
The Sol Spin attraction consists of six waving arms that are up to six stories high and rotate 360 degrees.
According to local media, it was opened in 2017 and was created by the Dutch company Mondial Rides.
The Sol Spin ride at Knott’s Berry Farm was brought to an abrupt halt Monday around 2 p.m
A total of 22 riders were stuck on Sol Spin
Ultimately, everyone was evacuated, although two women were hospitalized
Knott’s Berry Farm says on its website that the “thrill ride is one for the brave.”
It comes just months after a man claimed in a lawsuit that he suffered a horrific spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed after taking his “first roller coaster ride” at a well-known South Carolina amusement park.
Kul Sannyashi was riding the ‘Swamp Fox’ roller coaster at Family Kingdom Amusement Park in Myrtle Beach in July 2021 when the alleged incident occurred.
His wife, Gangia Adhikari, filed a lawsuit against the “largest amusement park by the sea” on Thursday, alleging negligence and extremely dangerous activities. She is seeking unspecified financial damages.
Sannyashi, who has also filed a lawsuit against the park, rode the 800-meter-long roller coaster that can reach a maximum speed of 120 km/h. He suffered “an acute injury to his spinal cord” that left him paralyzed, the lawsuit said.
Originally known as the ‘Red Devil’, the Swamp Fox began operating in May 1966 and is one of the few wooden roller coasters left in the US.