A man has told how he climbed out of a moving rollercoaster in the US when his safety bar released moments before the ride headed at speed down a loop.
Video taken from the ground shows the man struggling to get out of the carriage just as Desert Storm, a double-looping rollercoaster, was gaining height at Castles N’ Coasters amusement park in Phoenix, Arizona.
He had been celebrating his niece’s birthday and believes his actions helped save his life or prevent serious injury.
In an interview with NBC News affiliate KPNX, the man – who did not want to be identified but is from Arizona – said: “I had mere seconds to act on whether I stayed on or got off.
“We start the climb and you hear the click of the normal rollercoaster.
“We get just about to the top and I hear a click different from the click of the chain taking us up and so I checked my lap bar one last time and it released.”
When he realised he was not safely strapped in, he decided to climb out of the ride – and said the operators had shown “absolute carelessness”.
He claimed his safety bar was not physically checked by staff before the ride started – and they were not aware what was happening above them from their position on the ground.
He added: “I think the scariest part was the negligence of their part and just the absolute carelessness that they had throughout the entire thing.
“She (the member of staff) should have been watching that car and when she saw me climbing out, she should have been able to hit an emergency release.”
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He said he had filed an incident report with the park and called for a change to Arizona’s rules, which currently do not regulate state amusement parks.
“100 per cent needs to change,” he said. “I think all amusement parks that basically have people’s lives in their hands need to be better regulated.”
Castles N’ Coasters has been contacted by Sky News partner network NBC News, but has not yet made any comment.
