A MAN’S quick thinking might have saved his life after he jumped out of a nearly deadly rollercoaster with just seconds to spare.
Shocking video shows the moment an amusement park visitor leaped out of his seat on a moving ride just seconds before riders were flipped on a huge drop.
The man, who chose not to give his identity, stood up and went to the emergency staircase in the middle of his ride on Desert Storm at Castles N’ Coasters in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday.
The visitor said he escaped the ride because he was scared for his life when his safety harness came undone.
“We started going up, everything seems to be OK,” he recalled to Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV.
“And then when we get closer to the top, I hear a click.”
He said the click was “different from the click of the roller coaster going up on the chain.”
The man said he pushed his lap bar and it easily opened.
He then immediately took action.
“It was just adrenaline, and I didn’t want to die that day,” he told CBS affiliate KPHO-TV.
“As soon as the lap bar went up, I just didn’t really think about it, I just jumped out.”
He got out of his seat and went down the emergency stairs, where he met the ride operator.
“I told her my lap bar came up, and she yelled at me, ‘I told you to check it,'” the man said.
“And I just walked down the stairs and kind of broke down because the adrenaline was so much.”
He said the manager offered him a refund and that he filled out a complaint but still shared his concerns for future riders.
“It could have been somebody younger or older, not as agile right?” he said.
“Luckily, it was me and I was able to think fast on my feet and get out but it could have ended differently.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Castles N’ Coasters for a statement.
It was just adrenaline, and I didn’t want to die that day.
Amusement park visitor
While the amusement park hasn’t commented on the incident, people are swarming to the park’s Facebook page to call for the ride operator to be fired.
“It could have been a lawsuit when the operator don’t check the harness and the rider could’ve died so the operator should be fired,” one commenter wrote.
“You need to fire that operator who failed to check the harness for Desert Storm yesterday November 24th,” another slammed.
“You guys are very lucky nothing happened to that rider.
“The guest at your park should not have been yelled at by the operator because she didn’t do her job. Do better!!!!”
Arizona doesn’t have statewide regulations on theme parks or amusement rides.
State law only requires rides to be inspected once a year, leaving compliance up to each county.
