The wooden roller coaster will remain closed this Fourth of July weekend, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Amusement Ride Safety Division, which is investigating whether the 8-year-old ride caused an injury that burst a blood vessel in a woman’s brain on May 31.
Details on the inspection will not be released until the investigation – which includes a bolt-by-bolt check of the ride, operator interviews and other time-consuming steps – is finished, ODA officials said.
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“It sounds trite to say it takes the time it takes, but that’s the case,” said ODA’s Chief Legal Counsel, Bill Hopper said. “The key is that before it operates again, that the owner has put the time and effort to ensure that the ride is as safe as it can possibly be.”
On June 16, Kings Island learned that a 39-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital intensive care unit after she said she was injured on the ride May 31.
Kings Island contacted ODA Amusement Ride Safety Division Chief Gary Hill the day the injury was reported to the park, Hill said.