After a fatal coaster accident in Georgia, Six Flags promises seat belts and an independent safety review

The theme park operator announced the extra safeguard less than two weeks after 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem of Atlanta died after being ejected from his seat on the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Six Flags Entertainment Corp. said Friday it would add seat belts to Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia and to other coasters with a similar restraint system after a man died on Goliath this month.

The company said that all Six Flags rides and attractions would undergo safety reviews, as the park operator faces lawsuits over safety concerns. The chief executive of Six Flags says the company will install seat belts on the Georgia roller coaster from which a rider fell to his death earlier this month. The company’s rides with similar restraints will also get the safety upgrade.

“We are reinforcing safety precautions at our parks and taking additional measures, including adding seat belts on Goliath and other coasters with a similar restraint,” John Reilly, president and CEO of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, said in a statement Friday. Goliath remains shut down while state and local officials investigate the Oct. Reilly didn’t specify which other Six Flags coasters will get seat belts.

But it has temporarily closed eight additional roller coasters at five other parks in the U.S. Those rides all share the same manufacturer and a similar restraint system. Six Flags hasn’t said when those coasters are expected to reopen.

Reilly’s statement said Six Flags has enlisted independent engineers and inspectors to review safety procedures for all rides at its theme parks. Investigators haven’t said what went wrong on the Georgia coaster. Witnesses said they saw Kariem rise up out of his seat and fall headfirst back into the cart before being ejected.

Some people who rode Goliath before him that day said they had concerns about its restraints. All nine of the Six Flags coasters taken offline were manufactured by the Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard. They also feature similar clamshell restraints that sit at the top of a vertical bar between each rider’s knees.