Current:Home > ScamsA roller coaster was shut down after a crack was found in a support beam. A customer says he spotted it. -Secure Horizon Growth
A roller coaster was shut down after a crack was found in a support beam. A customer says he spotted it.
View
Date:2025-04-12 06:31:55
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! (29)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Opinion: Penn State reverses script in comeback at USC to boost College Football Playoff hopes
- Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet Spotted on Dinner Date in Rare Sighting
- Who plays on Monday Night Football? Breaking down Week 6 matchup
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Trump’s campaign crowdfunded millions online in an untraditional approach to emergency relief
- SpaceX launches Starship the 5th time; successfully catches booster in huge mechanic arm
- Six college football teams can win national championship from Texas to Oregon to ... Alabama?!
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- 'Saturday Night Live' brilliantly spoofs UFC promos with Ariana Grande as Celine Dion
Ranking
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- CFP bracket projection: Texas stays on top, Oregon moves up and LSU returns to playoff
- 25 Shocking Secrets About Pulp Fiction Revealed
- The DNC wants to woo NFL fans in battleground states. Here's how they'll try.
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Titans' Calvin Ridley vents after zero-catch game: '(Expletive) is getting crazy for me'
- Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie to miss USMNT's game against Mexico as precaution
- Tia Mowry Shares How She Repurposed Wedding Ring From Ex Cory Hardrict
Recommendation
The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
Sister Wives' Kody Brown Calls Ex Janelle Brown a Relationship Coward Amid Split
SpaceX launches its mega Starship rocket. This time, mechanical arms will try to catch it at landing
AP Top 25: Oregon, Penn State move behind No. 1 Texas. Army, Navy both ranked for 1st time since ’60
Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
Demi Moore Shares Update on Bruce Willis Amid Battle With Dementia
T.J. Holmes Suffers Injury After Running in Chicago Marathon With Girlfriend Amy Robach
Bethany Hamilton Makes Plea to Help Her Nephew, 3, After Drowning Incident