A rollercoaster billing itself as the longest and tallest in North America was shut down after an amusement park patron noticed a massive crack in one of the ride’s pillars.
Jeremy Wagner took his kids to Carowinds in North Carolina, and while taking a look at the park’s main attraction from the parking lot — the “Fury 325,” a 325-foot-tall coaster — he saw something that stopped him in his tracks: the track separated from the pillar as the coaster raced by.
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“I was trying to shoot the video, and my hands were shaking because I knew how quick this could be catastrophic,” Wagner told the New York Times.
A North Carolina amusement park closed one of its roller coasters Friday after a crack was found on a support beam.
According to news reports, Carowinds shut down its Fury 325 ride. The park claims it’s the “tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America.” pic.twitter.com/DNWTdxKGQm
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 3, 2023
Officials said the ride was closed “after park personnel became aware of a crack at the top of a steel support pillar” and will remain closed until repairs are made and the North Carolina Department of Labor completes an investigation of the near tragedy.
Chopper 9 Skyzoom was overhead as state inspectors at Carowinds examined a break on one of Fury 325’s support beams. What we know: https://t.co/gQIEw7OFRH pic.twitter.com/wbKFxw5tQ0
— WSOCTV (@wsoctv) July 3, 2023
Wagner told the Times that he had just bought his kids season passes to the park, and that his 14-year-old daughter had ridden the Fury 325 eight times that day. After filming the crack, he gave the footage to park officials who promptly shut the ride down. “I’m thankful they did that,” Wagner said. “Even though that’s their No. 1 attraction at the park.”