INDIANAPOLIS — Two Indianapolis residents were on the same roller coaster ride at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday when a man fell to his death.

Brandon Casper and Caleb Sedam were on the Goliath together when a 42-year-old man fell out of another car on the ride, struck several other passengers, and eventually fell to his death.

Casper and Sedam say they were between halfway and two-thirds up the first hill of the coaster when the car came to an abrupt stop. 

“We noticed there was security running around, people with medical bags starting to run towards the station. They were clearing things out with Goliath as the epicenter,” Casper told Circle City Broadcasting in an interview.

The couple says they noticed the other car, which they later learned had the 42-year-old on it, wasn’t fully pulled into the loading station, and began to realize something serious had happened. 

After being stuck on the ride for more than an hour, the couple were harnessed together and slowly led down. They weren’t informed that someone had died until they spoke to another park visitor who had been in the car involved in the accident. 

“It took a lot for us to hold back tears,” Sedam said. “We were in the car right behind this gentleman. Had we not been in a group of five, it’s likely we wouldn’t have jockeyed for the position we did and could’ve been on his train car.” 

The incident also caused the two to reflect on an earlier situation. Casper says the couple was on a different ride at the park before getting on Goliath, and a park employee neglected to check Sedam’s seatbelt before the ride began. 

Both say the incident has shaken their confidence in the ride industry, and they hope to move on as best as they can.

“When you go to a theme park expecting to have a day of fun, to have it turn in the worst way possible…is unimaginable. Our hearts go out to (the family) them,” Casper said.

Six Flags has decided to temporarily close nine other similar coasters at their locations across the country.

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