Current:Home > FinanceA roller coaster was shut down after a crack was found in a support beam. A customer says he spotted it. -Secure Growth Academy
A roller coaster was shut down after a crack was found in a support beam. A customer says he spotted it.
View
Date:2025-04-14 14:09:03
An amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina, closed one of its roller coasters Friday after a crack was found on a support beam.
Carowinds shut down Fury 325, which the park's website advertises as the "tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America" that crosses into both North Carolina and South Carolina.
Video of the ride showed the crack in the beam as cars packed with riders whizzed by.
Park patron Jeremy Wagner told CBS Charlotte, N.C. affiliate WBTV he was the one who spotted the crack and took the video.
He said he was waiting for his kids to finish one last ride on the coaster when, "I look up and I see a light come through the pole."
When the next car came by, he pulled out his phone and videoed it.
Wagner told WBTV what he saw when he played it back sent a shock through his chest.
"When the car came by," he said, "I saw (the beam) move."
Posted by Jeremy Wagner on Friday, June 30, 2023
(Credit: Jeremy Wagner via Storyful)
He told The New York Times that as he was shooting the video, "My hands were shaking because I knew how quick this could be catastrophic."
Wagner told WBTV he immediately showed the video to park security to have them shut the ride but didn't get a clear answer on whether park officials would. But Wagner eventually called the fire department and learned that his video did indeed prompt the shutdown of the Fury.
"My heart was like relieved because I was just afraid ... are they gonna do the right thing? I just didn't want to see something bad happen," he remarked to WBTV.
"It takes one time, just one time" for tragedy to strike, he said.
Tiffany Collins Newton told CBS News that on June 24, she took a photo that appeared to show "the beginnings of the crack" on the roller coaster. She said she did not notice the crack until after the ride was closed on Friday and she zoomed in on her recent photos.
The park said in a statement that it shut the ride "after park personnel became aware of a crack at the top of a steel support pillar. The park's maintenance team is conducting a thorough inspection and the ride will remain closed until repairs have been completed. Safety is our top priority and we appreciate the patience and understanding of our valued guests during this process.
"As part of our comprehensive safety protocols," the statement continued, "all rides, including Fury 325, undergo daily inspections to ensure their proper functioning and structural integrity."
Fury 325 first opened to the public in 2015 and cost approximately $30 million to build, according to news reports.
Carowinds didn't say how long repairs would take. The rest of the park will remain open.
State officials said they were going to inspect the ride Monday.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Which NFL teams are in jeopardy of falling out of playoff picture? Ranking from safe to sketchy
- What does 'delulu' mean? Whether on Tiktok or text, here's how to use the slang term.
- White House delays menthol cigarette ban, alarming anti-smoking advocates
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Families had long dialogue after Pittsburgh synagogue attack. Now they’ve unveiled a memorial design
- Russian lawmakers set presidential vote for March 17, 2024, clearing a path for Putin’s 5th term
- Not just the Supreme Court: Ethics troubles plague state high courts, too
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Who are the Houthis and why hasn’t the US retaliated for their attacks on ships in the Middle East?
Ranking
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Texas judge to consider pregnant woman’s request for order allowing her to have an abortion
- 2023 is officially the hottest year ever recorded, and scientists say the temperature will keep rising
- Mexico focuses on looking for people falsely listed as missing, ignores thousands of disappeared
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Centenarian survivors of Pearl Harbor attack are returning to honor those who perished 82 years ago
- SAG-AFTRA members approve labor deal with Hollywood studios
- An appreciation: How Norman Lear changed television — and with it American life — in the 1970s
Recommendation
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is freed from prison on humanitarian grounds
MLB Winter Meetings: Free agency updates, trade rumors, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto news
A fibrous path 'twixt heart and brain may make you swoon
Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
A simpler FAFSA's coming. But it won't necessarily make getting money easier. Here's why.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars employee charged with stealing $22 million from team
An apocalyptic vacation in 'Leave The World Behind'