If you don't want to lose body parts this summer, stay away from the superhero themed rides at Six Flags amusement parks.
For the second year in a row, a kid is maimed or killed on a ride named for a DC comics character. Around one o' clock today, a 17-year-old was decapitated at Six Flags Over Georgia while climbing a fence at the park's Batman Roller coaster ride.
Investigators are trying to figure out exactly why the teen was scaling the fences. It's believed he was struck by the ride while trying to recover a lost item.
Last summer at around this same time, a 16-year-old girl's feet were ripped off by the ankles while on the "Superman Tower of Power," a free-fall thrill ride that malfunctioned at the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Amusement Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
In May 2002, 58-year-old groundskeeper Samuel Milton Guyton of Atlanta was killed after he wandered in a restricted area under the same Batman roller coaster's path and was struck in the head by the dangling leg of one of the ride's passengers. The ride was closed for a day to allow the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to inspect the ride. It was deemed safe for passengers.
Six Flags said it closed the roller coaster after the Saturday afternoon accident out of respect for the teen's family. The ride was expected to reopen on Sunday, according to a Six Flags news release. Ride at your own risk.
I've always disliked amusement parks mainly because of the foul odors at every turn. Now, you can add the smell of death to the list--just underneath 1) Puke and 2) B.O.