An afternoon trip to an amusement park turned fatal when an IT professional was thrown from a high-speed roller coaster in Austell, Georgia.
Cobb County police officers working at Six Flags Over Georgia responded to the Goliath attraction around 3:58 p.m. Monday after receiving frantic reports from park visitors.
First responders located 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Kariem lying beneath the massive steel coaster structure.
Emergency medical personnel checked the Atlanta resident, but he was unresponsive and not breathing at the scene.
Witness statements gathered by detectives indicated Kariem became airborne during the ride, struck four other passengers, and plunged to the ground below.
Ambulances transported the four injured park guests to local medical centers, where doctors evaluated them for non-life-threatening injuries.
Park employees immediately brought the coaster train to a full stop on the tracks and safely evacuated all remaining passengers.
Kariem worked as an IT manager at Wesley International Academy, holding a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and nearly ten years of experience in school software systems.
School colleagues and family members mourned the dedicated educator, who focused his professional life on helping children access better classroom technology.
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