REYNOLDSBURG – State investigators say a piece of metal that flew off the world’s second-tallest roller coaster and hit a woman in line waiting to board the ride at Cedar Point came from the back of the coaster’s train.
The head of the state’s amusement safety office said Monday that the metal piece hit the woman from Michigan in the back of the head and was about the size of a fist.
Authorities haven’t released any information about her condition or what caused the accident a week ago and Cedar Point officials announced last Friday that the coaster will remain closed this year.
The investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture has determined that an L-shaped bracket, known as a flag plate, dislodged from the left side of the ride’s green train car and inspectors found that half of the bolts which secured the plate to the train body had also dislodged, said David Miran, the department‘s chief of Amusement Ride Safety.
The flag plates on the Top Thrill Dragster are used to communicate to the ride’s operating system that the car has passed a portion of the track, Miran said.
Inspectors also found that the brake bracket area of the track, which slows the cars at the end of each ride, showed signs of impact and deformation and several horizontal track beams also showed signs of impact within approximately 25 feet of the damaged brake bracket, Miran said.
The green train car to a laboratory which is examining the bolts that remain in the train body.
The lab report is expected to provide more information on how the flag plate may have dislodged and Miran says the agency continues to investigate how the damage occurred to the track.