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Man In Critical Condition After King’s Island Accident

dkspencer said:
Unfortunate news at Kings Island this evening. Individual entered restricted area near Banshee and was struck. Sounds very reminiscent of the Raptor/Batman incidents.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1803601411487285624

More information regarding it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/KingsIsland/comments/1djyveu

https://local12.com/news/local/gues...dition-unknown-first-aid-police-investigation
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Yikes… Eyewitnesses suggesting he just walk through an unlocked security door. Other park regulars claiming they seen it open several times this year.

Obviously this is speculation, and pretty strong accusations. But if true, they could be in trouble for this, even though entering a ride area is incredibly stupid, if that ride area is not secure… well, we’ll wait and see I guess.
 
^ what I'd read is that the door isn't locked (but is well signposted as off-limits) but that doesn't immediately lead to a dangerous area, there are still 8 foot high fences the chap would have also had to go over.

#darwinawards
 
davidm said:
^ what I'd read is that the door isn't locked (but is well signposted as off-limits) but that doesn't immediately lead to a dangerous area, there are still 8 foot high fences the chap would have also had to go over.

#darwinawards
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Hopefully that is the case then.
 
I meant to post this earlier when I saw the post from his mother (apparently) on social media. The Banshee victim passed away. :(
 
Hello everybody. I didn’t see a topic for this accident, so I wanted to create one. According to multiple new sources, a few days ago, a currently unidentified 38-year old man was struck by Banshee and is currently in critical condition at the hospital. He lost an item on the ride, entered a restricted area in order to retrieve it, and was hit by a train full of people. Multiple people on the ride were injured, with some having “cuts and scrapes on their legs,” and one person having “blood on his face.” The riders knew they struck something, but they thought it was an animal. The man sustained massive head trauma, and it’s currently unknown if he’s going to survive or not. Banshee will be inspected before reopening.

This is absolutely horrible. Although it is the man’s own fault for venturing into a restricted area, it is still a tragedy. The first thing that came to mind when I heard of this accident was the Six Flags Over Georgia Batman accident. Considering Banshee is also an invert, and actually goes faster than Batman, this man is incredibly luckily he wasn’t beheaded like the teen in the Batman accident. But really terrible all around. I’m sending prayers to this man and his family.

people.com

38-Year-Old Man Hospitalized After Being ‘Struck’ by Roller Coaster in Ohio: 'We Hit Something'

A 38-year-old man entered a restricted and fenced off area near the Banshee roller coaster at Ohio's Kings Island amusement park at around 8 p.m. local time on June 19, where he was "struck" by the ride.
people.com people.com
 
Shocking to me that B&M has a perfect safety record for those on the train...yet still has around 6 or 7 fatalities tied to their rides. I hate to be that guy, but Darwin was right...

Also inverts are incredibly loud, and you can almost sense their presence...how you don't see one coming at you is utterly baffling.

Sorry for this guy and his family...BUT they call it "don't die" fencing for a reason.

Not trying to be an insensitive ass...but I am tired of people blaming others for their own mistakes...why give an entire industry a bad look just because somebody with no clue about it messed up? It makes no sense to me...

Anyways, that's my two cents...have a great day yall, remember Darwin, stay safe, always know things are there for your own safety.
 
Has anyone seen anti-Kings Island/Banshee sentiment in relation to this incident? Or in the response from the public? My news sources are admittedly enthusiast-facing, but all I've seen is pre-emptive backlash to the backlash. The incident is still very recent and I would not be surprised if we eventually hear murmurs of legal action from the family against the park (whether or not it actually results in anything). Until that happens, these locked-and-loaded comments , talking down about a dead man, make me a little uncomfortable (I'm mostly seeing this attitude on r/rollercoasters but still).

And yes, the deceased is at fault for his own demise and the trauma caused to his family, park staff and everyone else, but there's a certain Marge quote that I feel is unironically valid right now.
 
While I was there, I lent on a gate into Banshee's ride area (incredible ride, but I can't walk in a straight line after it!) - and was a little concerned when it came open.
I don't think you could actually have wandered into the path of an oncoming train from that section - but it concerned me enough that I did go and flag it to the entrance host - the gate was broken, so I couldn't just sort it myself.

British/Merlin safety is obviously OTT, but I reckon that would have been a slamdunk ride stoppage over here - I think it was quickly fixed, but I admit I didn't go and look... and after seeing a bloke deciding to walk across the track in the Voyage station instead of crossing through the ride car, perhaps H&S wouldn't be a bad thing, if only to protect people from themselves...

...the more I read that back, the more I hope this fence incident was unrelated.
 
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Fiender said:
Has anyone seen anti-Kings Island/Banshee sentiment in relation to this incident? Or in the response from the public? My news sources are admittedly enthusiast-facing, but all I've seen is pre-emptive backlash to the backlash. The incident is still very recent and I would not be surprised if we eventually hear murmurs of legal action from the family against the park (whether or not it actually results in anything). Until that happens, these locked-and-loaded comments , talking down about a dead man, make me a little uncomfortable (I'm mostly seeing this attitude on r/rollercoasters but still).

And yes, the deceased is at fault for his own demise and the trauma caused to his family, park staff and everyone else, but there's a certain Marge quote that I feel is unironically valid right now.
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On r/rollercoasters and this site, all I’ve seen is people saying it was his own fault. Which is true. And it makes sense that enthusiasts are saying that, considering we know more about rollercoasters than the average person. However, on YouTube comments, which is going to be mostly GP, I’ve only seen the same sentiment. They agree that the victim is the one at fault here. Normally, GPers are quick to demonize the park and coaster. But apparently with this accident it‘s so obviously the victim’s own fault the GP actually agrees with us for once. Honestly, I don’t think the family has any grounds for a lawsuit, unless this was somehow a gross act of negligence from the park. But it wasn’t. The victim climbed over two fences and ignored many warnings signs. But legal fees are so expensive, King’s Island might just choose to settle (if a lawsuit happens).
 
Don't overthink this - anyone with common sense will understand the extreme, purposeful lengths you have to go to for such a sad demise. You'll notice in general, American media and coverage of these and other incidents doesn't point blame to amusement parks (so long as they're not in the obvious wrong/showing some level of due diligence), versus English media which manages to blame Thorpe Park on everything from Hyperia closure to Brexit.
 
So, I was at Kings Island on the 23rd, four days after this happened....and Banshee was business as usual. Ride up and running all 3 trains, station-loads of riders eager to get on, and oddly I never once heard anyone around the ride or anywhere else in the park, mention this incident one way or another 🤷‍♂️
 
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