Roller Coaster Death At Ohio’s Cedar Point: Dropped Phone Reportedly Led To Accident

Ohio’s Cedar Point amusement park was the site of a roller coaster death on Thursday. East Canton resident James A. Young II was struck and killed as he entered a restricted area of the ride.

According to CNN, Young had ridden the Raptor coaster around 5 p.m. on Thursday with friends and dropped some personal belongings. He then reportedly jumped over a fence under the coaster to look for his lost item. The Raptor was in operation and he was struck.

Park officials indicate that safety officials immediately responded to help Young, but they were unable to save him. Nobody else was injured in the roller coaster death incident. According to the Sandusky Register, Young was pronounced dead at the scene.

Reports indicate that Young, 45, had dropped his phone while on the Raptor coaster. The specifics of his injuries have not been detailed, though both the Raptor and the Blue Streak were closed for about an hour as emergency personnel attended to Young. The rest of the park stayed open and operated as usual throughout the incident.

Officials are still investigating the incident and have been looking to talk to others who may have seen what happened in the roller coaster death. Authorities are working on determining whether Young was struck by a train of the coaster itself or somebody on the ride. The Raptor travels at speeds up to 57 miles per hour. It has not been detailed how fast the ride was going when Young was struck.

As was previously reported by the Inquisitr, this is the second injury related to the Raptor that has happened this summer. In June, a visitor had to get stitches after squeezing through a closing gate. However, clearly in both the gate incident and the roller coaster death, the visitors were harmed as they were disregarding safety protocols.

The Cedar Point amusement park is a top attraction in Ohio and is known for its roller coasters. The Raptor is one of 17 coasters at the park that touts 10 miles of coaster tracks. The park has been open for 146 years, making it one of the oldest amusement parks in the country.

The park has confirmed that the roller coaster death happened after “a guest entered a restricted, fenced area of the Raptor and was struck by the ride,” notes the Associated Press via ABC News. The Cedar Point statement adds that their thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family.

[Image via WKSU]