This is my old stomping grounds. I just about lived at Kings Island each summer I was a teenager. My Facebook feed is upset. Lotta people claiming the guy went into the restricted area to retrieve his car keys that had come out of his pocket while riding the ride. So I can see someone doing that… I think the official procedure for this is to wait until the park closes and an employee will retrieve them. If you wanted to go home now, I could see hopping the fence to the restricted area. But sheesh… watch the cars go by 3 or 4 times and see what you’re getting yourself into. It’s obviously incredibly dangerous to step in front of a speeding roller coaster.
The good news is none of the passengers were hurt. Coaster is closed … presumably they have to determine if the coaster sustained any damage from the incident, and maybe some sort of investigation into the accident itself. Presumably the injured guy (reportedly not expected to live) is 100% at fault.
I think they can even stop the ride for a few minutes (or 15-30? no idea) to retrieve the keys. Not like a hat, which might be easily found. Keys might take a search party of two or three employees. They’d be slowed by picking up the loose change on the search.
I went to King’s Island at least once a year from 7th grade till I graduated HS. After I got a driver’s license I would go on a non-holiday week Wednesday. NO LINES!! It was great.
Also go if there’s predicted to be a massive thunderstorm in the afternoon. Hang out in the festhaus for 30 minutes during the thunderstorm, grab a bite to eat, and enjoy having the park to yourself and walking onto any ride the rest of the day.
So more details have emerged. Confirmed that he dropped his keys on the ride, and that official park policy is that for car keys and Rx glasses you wait until the park closes and an employee retrieves them. For other items such as hats and non-Rx sunglasses they might not be available until morning. It happens often enough that they do not stop the ride for 10-15 minutes to retrieve lost items. (Lines are long enough already!)
Guy had asked about retrieving the keys before the park closed, was informed of the policy, said he’d get them himself, was instructed multiple times not to do so, and he had to hop not one but two fences to get to the area where he was struck and a park employee told him to get out.
They cannot stop the ride at certain points… it is going too fast. There are multiple points where they can, but they’re designed to be able to stop to prevent one set of cars from crashing into another… not to be prevent something like this.
Two young people presumed to be his kids were watching.
Helps to have a second set of keys within driving distance, if leaving ASAP was the goal.
Also: Old Navy (and other places) sells shorts with zippers. Damn right I’m zipping up on roller coasters.
