The Newshound

Six Flags' Goliath coaster was shut for maintenance just hours before teacher's fatal plunge, parkgoers reveal

Hassan Kariem with his wife, whose family described his death as a "terrible shock" and said they "just want to know what happened.
Hassan Kariem with his wife, whose family described his death as a "terrible shock" and said they "just want to know what happened.

Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, a technology teacher at Wesley International Academy in Atlanta, was flung from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on his niece's 13th birthday — and two fellow teachers say the ride was closed for maintenance just hours before. His niece, seated beside him, told her father Joshua Nelson that Kariem appeared to faint and that his restraint latch "snapped or came loose" as the coaster surged, sending him striking the ride's frame multiple times before landing on a nearby structure. State investigators have now confirmed the Goliath's last official safety inspection was seven months earlier, in March 2026, with no violations recorded.

Six Flags has since renamed its 'Dead Man's Party' Fright Fest show after the fatal incident, quietly sanitising the event's branding.

At least 12 roller coasters across the US and Canada have been suspended, with ten sharing the same manufacturer and restraint system as the Goliath.

Nelson said Kariem's final words to his daughter were: 'This is my favorite ride — I'm so excited to be here.'

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