Cedar Point guest gets hit by phone while riding roller coaster

Fox 8 Article Link

Summary: phone falls out of a rider's pocket and hits another rider, on Maverick. Also found a Facebook post from the injured guest below.

Is it possible that Maverick enacts the same procedure like Steel Vengeance has? i.e. metal detectors?

Not likely that Cedar Point will change any procedures on Maverick, certainly not the addition of metal detectors.

Also, guest behavior will not change, since a significant number of people just don't give a crap about anyone around them anymore.

This is why I rarely ride in the back of a coaster anymore. The fewer potential morons in front of me the better.

In the words of Vater:

Sucks.

I saw that on a news feed and am trying to figure out how the phone was caught after it hit him in the head. Someone must have good reflexes.

If true that the phone fell out of their pocket, then that's a sad and unfortunate event. But either way, the phone was not secured, as is the park's policy. I still think they would do well to harshly enforce their own rules and make examples out of anyone who takes a phone out on a ride.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but I am always immediately skeptical anytime someone in these situations claims the park's response was lacking.

Unless there's been a drastic change in recent years, the SOP has always been to offer immediate medical treatment onsite and refer to a hospital when necessary. I would be shocked if the park is no longer doing this. And if this is still SOP, what else is this person looking for?

$$$?

Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking too. The person is miffed because they weren't "compensated" by the park. Ridiculous.

Nowhere in the article or that facebook post does the work compensated appear. I think that blaming the guy who got hit in the head with a phone is a tough look here

I'm not victim blaming, clearly the guy suffered a rather nontrivial wound. What I'm wondering is what, exactly, the park did or didn't do that led to his feeling "owed" something more.

Detroit Free Press Article

Sorry, this isn't new. Before phones, it was Pepsi bottles and wallets.

From that Freep article (emphasis added):

Cedar Point confirmed Monday a guest riding Maverick was struck by a cell phone that fell out of another guest's pocket during the ride. The guest, the park said, was treated by the first aid team and released, and did not request additional assistance.

That's according to the park, which exactly fits the park SOP for guests who are injured.

According to the guest, however:

After demanding to speak with supervisors, he said on-site medics looked at Carter's wound and cleaned up the blood at the park's first aid department.

I would be absolutely stunned if he only received medical treatment after "demanding to speak with supervisors". Instead, I would bet he received medical treatment, and then demanded a supervisor. And it stands to reason that, at that point:

Cedar Point, he said, reimbursed him for his Fast Pass and offered him free meals for the rest of the day. However, he added, the incident took place at 6:35 p.m. and he did not leave the park's first aid department until 8:30 p.m. Carter only received one free meal before the park closed for the day.

So, instead of asking for an All Day Dining voucher for a future visit, which I am reasonably certain the park would have happily granted, the guest is considering lawyering up:

Carter said he is considering whether to taking legal action against Cedar Point or the family who dropped the phone...

Again, I'm not blaming the victim for the injury he sustained. I just think this seems a lot like someone looking for a payday from an unfortunate accident.

BleauxJays:

Nowhere in the article or that facebook post does the work compensated appear. I think that blaming the guy who got hit in the head with a phone is a tough look here

It definitely wasn't my intent to "victim blame" here either. However, I could tell by the FB post that he felt what the park did wasn't enough. And since my post Brandon has proved same. He received medical attention, got his Fastlane refunded, and was given a meal plan but is still complaining.

I get that it's no fun getting hit by something. But in this case (unlike Dragster) it definitely wasn't the park's fault. In my opinion the park did all the should've (medical attention) and then some (comped FL and meal plan). What more should they do?

Not to mention that if this guys timeline is correct, the park took their time with him to make sure sufficient care was provided and that he was ok to be released. It wasn't a simple on-site "Here's a bandaid, move along now" type of treatment.