ATLANTA — The death of a forty-two-year-old Atlanta educator who was ejected from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia has ignited a national firestorm, with conservative commentators, mainstream outlets, and witnesses all demanding answers about how a ride designed for extreme thrills turned deadly for a man who had already survived cancer twice, a difficult battle with COVID-19, and a car fire that could have taken his life just weeks earlier.
Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, identified by the Cobb County Police Department as the victim, was riding the Goliath with his son on Monday when, according to witness accounts, he slipped out of his lap bar and was thrown from the coaster. The @WashTimes, citing the Cobb County Police Department, reported that Kariem struck other riders before falling beneath the ride. The @gatewaypundit reported that Kariem hit three cars on the coaster before crashing onto the roof of another attraction, according to witnesses.
Kariem, who taught in Atlanta Public Schools, was described by colleagues and family as a cherished educator. The @CollinRugg account noted that Kariem had survived a car fire with his daughter just weeks before the Six Flags incident, had beaten cancer twice, and had fought through a severe bout of COVID-19. "Survived a car fire with his daughter. Survived cancer twice. Survived a difficult fight with Covid-19. Died after being flung from a Six Flags rollercoaster," the post read, capturing the cruel irony that has driven much of the reaction online.
The @TheOfficerTatum account posted footage of the Goliath stopped mid-ride on its steep incline, with park personnel walking up the stairs to assist riders still trapped in their seats. "TRAGIC: Hassan Kariem, a 42-year-old Atlanta teacher, died after being ejected from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia," the post read. "Police say he struck other riders before falling beneath the ride. A witness said his son was seated beside him. I can't imagine what his [family is going through]." The @RealAmVoice account shared identical footage with similar commentary, describing the scene as the roller coaster "stopped mid-ride" and "people in the seats" awaiting help from Six Flags personnel.
Witness testimony reported by WSB-TV and relayed by the @gatewaypundit painted a scene of absolute horror. A woman who was on the ride when Kariem was ejected told the station that the lap bar restraint had been malfunctioning throughout the ride. "It would unlock and lock, unlock and lock. It kept clicking like it was unlocking and re-locking," she said. "He hit a girl two rows in front of us on the Goliath ride right where the pictures are taken. His blood splattered over everybody, and his body fell behind one of the haunted attractions."
The New York Post, posting as @nypost, reported that Six Flags had closed nine other "hypercoasters" in the wake of the death — all high-speed extreme thrill rides, nearly all constructed by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). The Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain, however, was built by a different Swiss company, Giovanola. Another Giovanola hypercoaster, the Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, was not shuttered.
The @nypost also reported that attorney Daniel Adamson of Dixon-Adamson, a Georgia firm specializing in amusement park cases, said the investigation will examine every aspect of the Goliath's design, maintenance, and operation — including schematics, maintenance schedules, and video footage. "That's definitely something that should be looked at, in addition to whether Six Flags was following the requirements of ordinary care," Adamson told the Post, referring to the question of whether a seatbelt would have saved Kariem's life.
Adamson explained that in Georgia, theme parks are held to a duty of "ordinary care," unlike mass transit operators, which have a duty of "extraordinary care." That means if Six Flags followed all codes and regulations, the park may not be held liable for Kariem's death — even without additional seatbelt restraints. "When somebody boards a roller coaster, they accept the thrill of the ride, not the risk of being thrown from it," Adamson said.
The @gatewaypundit, posting under the headline "Man Who Plunged to His Death From Georgia Six Flags Rollercoaster Identified," was among the first conservative outlets to carry the story, which quickly spread across social media. The @CollinRugg post, which highlighted Kariem's remarkable history of survival, became a focal point for readers grappling with the senselessness of the tragedy.
The @WashTimes reported that the Cobb County Police Department publicly identified Kariem as the victim, confirming his age and city of residence. Other coverage included reports from CBS Atlanta and FOX 5 Atlanta, both of which confirmed the identification and the circumstances of Kariem's death. The New York Post's coverage focused on the broader implications for Six Flags' fleet of hypercoasters, noting that the closures affected parks across the country.
Next News Network could not independently verify the specific claims made by witnesses or the exact mechanical failure that led to Kariem's ejection from the ride. The investigation by Cobb County authorities and Six Flags remains ongoing, and no final determination of cause has been released.
The Goliath, one of Six Flags Over Georgia's most recognizable attractions, is a hypercoaster that reaches speeds exceeding seventy miles per hour and features a drop of over one hundred seventy feet. The ride first opened in 2006 and has been a signature attraction at the park for nearly two decades. The decision to close nine other hypercoasters — including similar rides at Six Flags parks in other states — suggests that the company is taking the incident seriously and examining whether the same mechanical or design issues could exist on other rides in its fleet.
Six Flags has not publicly commented on the specific cause of the incident or on what the closure of the other hypercoasters means for the company's safety protocols. The Cobb County Police Department has not released additional details about the investigation beyond confirming Kariem's identity.
Kariem's death has resonated far beyond Atlanta. As a teacher in the Atlanta Public Schools system, he was a familiar figure in the community, and his obituary described him as a "cherished" educator. His survival of multiple life-threatening events — cancer, COVID-19, and a car fire — had made him, in the eyes of those who knew him, a man who seemed indestructible. That he died on a rollercoaster, of all places, has only deepened the sense of shock and grief.
Our Take
This is the kind of story that makes you question everything. A man survives cancer twice. He survives a car fire with his daughter. He survives a fight with COVID-19 that could have killed him. Then he takes his son to Six Flags for what should have been a fun day, and he dies because a lap bar apparently malfunctioned on a ride that was supposed to be safe. The witnesses say the restraint was clicking, unlocking and locking, and nobody stopped the ride. That is not just a tragedy. That is a failure.
Six Flags immediately closed nine other hypercoasters after Kariem's death. Why? If the Goliath was safe, why shut down other rides? The company knows something. The question is whether they knew it before Monday and did nothing about it.
The attorney quoted in the New York Post says theme parks in Georgia only owe "ordinary care" to their customers. That is a legal standard that protects corporations over people. When you buy a ticket to a theme park, you are not consenting to being thrown from a rollercoaster to your death. You are consenting to a thrill, not to a preventable tragedy. If Six Flags knew that lap bars on the Goliath were faulty and did not fix them, they should be held fully accountable.
The conservative media has been right to amplify this story. The mainstream media will move on in a few days. But Hassan Kariem's family will not. His son, who was sitting beside him when he was ejected, will live with that memory forever. The very least we can do is demand a thorough investigation, demand transparency from Six Flags, and demand that no other family has to go through what the Kariem family is going through right now.
Rest in peace, Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem. You survived so much, only to be taken by a rollercoaster. America deserves to know why.
