GUEST ON GATLINBURG MOUNTAIN COASTER INJURED AFTER FLYING OUT OF CART, LANDING ON TRACK

A guest on an amusement attraction in Tennessee was severely injured Monday after being thrown from the cart of a mountain coaster. Now, the state has launched an investigation into circumstances surrounding the incident, which occurred on the Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster in Gatlinburg.

The injured individual, who was not identified, “flew out of the cart while entering the curve just past the Kodak camera,” according to an incident report. The rider was thrown approximately 10 feet before landing on a section of the coaster’s track.

The guest was transported to a hospital for treatment of injuries to the head, wrist and ankle.

The Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster was closed following Monday’s incident. The ride, however, was allowed to reopen yesterday, per a letter from the state’s Amusement Device Unit to Gatinburg Mountain Coaster owner Jon Ogle.

The letter, which described the guest’s injuries as serious, confirmed that a third-party investigator deemed the ride to be in compliance with “applicable industry standards.”

Tennessee’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which oversees the Amusement Device Unit, has sent a compliance officer to Gatlinburg to gather “additional information,” according to a representative for the department.

In 2016, a woman riding the same Gatlinburg mountain coaster was thrown from a cart on the last turn, suffering injuries to her wrists, knee, head and ribs. Police who reviewed the incident found the woman, age 44, had not been wearing a seat belt.



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