Sandusky police investigating accident at Cedar Point near Raptor

Picture of accident from Coasterbuzz

Not sure how to post pictures on here. This picture was posted on coasterbuzz.

I read 2 articles that said 40 ,and one said 45.

cptedsdisciple2 said:
We can all blame the victim but this has become almost a yearly event at the point. 2015 raptor, 2014 skyhawk, 2013 STR , 2012 dragster. CP's record isn't as as sterling as mr Mealy mouth Edwards would have Everyone believe.

Hey, that is a real cheap shot, especially to Brian! Not the park's fault at all. Sometimes you can't help dumb people no matter what you do. You can criticize me for being insensitive if you want, but this was entirely self inflicted by someone's reckless action and a direct violation of Ohio law. The park's safety record is still fine, no deaths ever caused by a mechanical malfunction of a ride.

Pete said:

Hey, that is a real cheap shot, especially to Brian! Not the park's fault at all. Sometimes you can't help dumb people no matter what you do. You can criticize me for being insensitive if you want, but this was entirely self inflicted by someone's reckless action and a direct violation of Ohio law. The park's safety record is still fine, no deaths ever caused by a mechanical malfunction of a ride.

Another one gets it.....

AlexGillman said:

Here's a witness:

http://www.19actionnews.com/clip/11762929/raw-witness-to-cedar-poin...ath-speaks

Well she was real informative... NOT (cue the Monkeys meme... again)

Unfortunately, this has certainly not been the year of the raptor.

cptedsdisciple2 said:

We can all blame the victim but this has become almost a yearly event at the point. 2015 raptor, 2014 skyhawk, 2013 STR , 2012 dragster. CP's record isn't as as sterling as mr Mealy mouth Edwards would have Everyone believe.

So what happened with Dragster in 2012? And comparing a guests negligent death to 2014's (minor) SkyHawk incident is apples to oranges. The park is certainly not responsible for this. I don't hear Bryan (mealy mouth??) Edwards brag about the parks excellent safety history (which they do certainly have) - rather he brags about the excellent team of mechanics and ride maintenance team and park operations crew that puts safety #1 above everything. Compared to chains like Six Flags, Cedar Fair and specifically Cedar Point sets the standard for ride safety - and until people start getting thrown off of rides like Bizarro or Texas Giant due to the park's negligence CP remains as safety conscious as it gets in the industry.

And what's the concern about the hearse/casket? unless it has the guest's name or likeness on it it has nothing to do with this incident. It's an ornament that's been a part of Halloweekends since long before today. Should they just cancel Halloweekends? Tear down Raptor? Where should the line be drawn?

This isn't the "first death" at the park either. A man was found unresponsive on GateKeeper in 2013, he was brought to a hospital and later pronounced dead due to a previously unknown ailment. Neither the park nor the guest is responsible in this case. Today's event is hardly historical in that sense.

CoasterGuy15 said:

AlexGillman said:

Here's a witness:

http://www.19actionnews.com/clip/11762929/raw-witness-to-cedar-poin...ath-speaks

Well she was real informative... NOT (cue the Monkeys meme... again)

Unfortunately, this has certainly not been the year of the raptor.

Yeah, agreed. That interview was awful.

Just a question, and this may demonstrate my lack of knowledge of how Roller Coasters work, but could a proximity switch be designed to alert ride hosts of intruders in restricted areas.

It's a nice concept, but how would the switch differentiate between humans, squirrels, birds, falling objects etc...

Thoughts?

What would that do though? Unless it's before the MCBR they can't do anything to stop the train.

To hell with the rules AND the signs. I'm trying to figure out where this happened and what kind of a monkey* this person was to get into trouble.

Inverted coasters are the ones most succeptible to this kind of incident because it is extremely difficult to judge the distance that the train hangs down from the track. Fortunately, Raptor makes that judgement almost entirely unnecessary. The entire ride is fenced, but many areas under the ride are easily accessible. The fences are low, the ride is high, and really the only reason it is necessary to keep people out of the ride area is to keep them from becoming entangled in the other rides that are there. But there are areas where Raptor comes dangerously close to the ground. In those areas...

o The ride has non-vegetative landscaping (I think they call it Xeriscaping or something like that)
o The ride has warning signs, which are typically ignored and are there mostly to interfere with photography
o The ride has substantial barriers. I hesitate to call them fences because they dramatically exceed all the relevant standards for fence construction. They are in excess of 6' tall, and are made with a hardware cloth which is designed to be difficult to climb, especially the wire fences near the queue, less so the chain link fences in less accessible areas. The barriers themselves do have gates, but these gates are secured with padlocks, and I would not be at all surprised if they were key-retaining locks that require the use of the control panel key. (I don't know if they do this, but it is the sort of forcing function that CP would employ).

Getting into a position to get clobbered by Raptor is a weirdly impressive feat. Granted, I once watched someone do a standing high-jump over the maXair fence, but the Raptor fences are much higher and much more hostile. Unless I am forgetting some egregious oversight, I don't see where there is any access to any Raptor kill zone where anybody could get in and still have some expectation of being able to get back out.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

* I'm referring to a critter that is really good at climbing. If you thought I meant anything else, you thought wrong.

--DCAjr

I know it will get me lynched, but I agree with Staaber...

The public and the media are going to call for CF's head. The reality? They did more than enough to prevent this.

• There's bins on Raptor where the guy could have secured his loose articles.
• The ride ops tell you to secure your loose articles before getting on.
• There's signs in the station and the entrance telling you to secure your loose articles.
• The fences are there for a reason.
• There's signs warning you that the area is restricted and that you shouldn't enter.
• Common sense should apply.

I get so tired of people acting like a-holes at CP. They treat the poor employees like crap. They're entitled. They think the rules don't apply to them. It's almost like everyone decides to unleash their inner jacka** when they arrive.

This guy entered an area CLEARLY marked restricted. He stepped in front of a speeding roller coaster. He paid for being a a-hole with his life.

I feel bad for his family... I feel bad for EVERYONE associated with CF. I read somewhere that he got hit my someone's foot... If so I feel TERRIBLE for whoever that is and everyone that was on that train.

...But the guy himself? I'm trying to make myself feel bad for him and I just can't.

campfreak06 said:
Just a question, and this may demonstrate my lack of knowledge of how Roller Coasters work, but could a proximity switch be designed to alert ride hosts of intruders in restricted areas.

It's a nice concept, but how would the switch differentiate between humans, squirrels, birds, falling objects etc...

Thoughts?

Even if they knew someone was in there you can't just stop a train unless it is at a brake run. After the Mid course brake nothing can stop the train until the station brake run.

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure there's been more than a few deaths at the park over the years all due to heart attacks or other preexisting medical conditions, diagnosed or undiagnosed.

That being said, it's really kind of an apples and oranges situation as far as "victim-blaming" is concerned.

This isn't the same as victim-blaming someone who was mugged because they went into a bad part of town or was pickpocketed because they had an overstuffed wallet in their back pocket. That still has the unpredictable variable of the bad guy in both situations.

This is more like someone deliberately ignoring warning signs and walking into a minefield. The risk is there, it's a constant, known risk, that they're consciously choosing to ignore. That's the big difference.

Top_Thrill_Tyler said:

And what's the concern about the hearse/casket? unless it has the guest's name or likeness on it it has nothing to do with this incident. It's an ornament that's been a part of Halloweekends since long before today. Should they just cancel Halloweekends? Tear down Raptor? Where should the line be drawn?

No actual "concern," just more of an "ooo, not the best day to put up that decoration!" Take it lightly.

campfreak06 said:
Just a question, and this may demonstrate my lack of knowledge of how Roller Coasters work, but could a proximity switch be designed to alert ride hosts of intruders in restricted areas.

It's a nice concept, but how would the switch differentiate between humans, squirrels, birds, falling objects etc...

Thoughts?

Good idea...could make something like that work I'm sure. Would cause nuisance shut downs I'm sure....just put up an electric fence...

Sandusky Police have identified the victim as James A. Young, 45, of East Canton, Ohio. Young had just finished riding Raptor and entered a restricted area to retrieve a personal item he dropped during the ride.

CoasterGuy15 said:

Unfortunately, this has certainly not been the year of the raptor.

Yeah, someone one in a hundred million type special gets his leg stuck in a gate, stupidity in action. Then someone jumps a fence into a restricted area, stupidity in action. I'd re-phrase your post to read it hasn't been the year for stupid people making bad decisions. Raptor is just fine...

Detroit Basketball said:

Picture of accident from Coasterbuzz

Not sure how to post pictures on here. This picture was posted on coasterbuzz.

Seems very hard to picture that Raptor (or someone's dangling feet) could actually reach someone that far below... But maybe that's what that guy thought too

Ugh, this makes me feel so sick. I cannot imagine how the people riding Raptor felt, or the ride ops, or his family. Just awful and I'm so sad it happened at CP. Obviously it's not good happening anywhere, but when it's a CF park, I get especially sad about it.

campfreak06 said:
Just a question, and this may demonstrate my lack of knowledge of how Roller Coasters work, but could a proximity switch be designed to alert ride hosts of intruders in restricted areas.

It's a nice concept, but how would the switch differentiate between humans, squirrels, birds, falling objects etc...

Thoughts?

Trust me... Intamin is probably working on it. If there's an over-engineered safety mechanism that can cause a ride shutdown, Intamin will create it! lol ;)

"Sorry folks... Maverick's down because a seagull landed in the Canyon..."