Accident on Wildcat at Cedar Point

[Airtime&Gravity]

A close call for some riders at Cedar Point. A spokesman for the theme park told WWJ that a car on the Wild Cat ride suffered what's known as a "roll back," meaning the car didn't make it up the initial hill on the track Friday night--and rolled back down, slamming into some other cars.

 

Nine people were taken to a first aid station at the park. No one was seriously injured.

 

The incident was described as "highly unusual" by park officials.

 

Link

 

 

Good thing no one was badly hurt, but this is not what the industry needs right now with all the amusement safety craze the government/watchdog groups are currently in.

[Hercules]

I wonder if this would cause the ride to be closed for an extended period, even though that is a very freak thing to happen. Or, if people will be calling for it to be removed, just because.

 

Good thing nobody was seriously injured.

[Carnage]

So that's why it was closed Sat/Sun/Mon when I was there.

 

I just assumed it was closed for maintenance reasons. (I had been reading how it's life chain was giving it problems opening weekend)

[SharkTums]

Maybe it was raining somewhere in the country and it caused the lift to slip???

[John Peck]

Wow.. that park is VERY lucky it was only that bad. They really dodged a bullet with that one.

 

Remember the Gillians Wonderland Zamperla Mouse that ejected 2 people killing them?

 

I seriously hope this doesn't mean an end to Wildcat.. its not exactly a noteworthy coaster nowadays, but it's so much fun.

[signal]

I was there for 4 days, and it must have just opened yesterday. I hadn't seen anyone working on it throughout my trip. Odd that when it opens, it crashes.

[RaptorBoyASU]

I love that since the current head of operations has gone on a safety craze (adding the air gates to every ride, seatbelts to things like corkscrew, saying "check") they've had more accidents than in the 10 years prior.

[ginzo]

Didn't a similar thing happen with Lisebergbanan a few years back? I think the problem turned out be that the park was lubricating the anti-rollback dogs to reduce noise on the lift hill.

[hemmy]

Couldn't have been much more of an impact than when the ride actually comes to a stop at the end.

[Alpenguy]

So if 9 people were involved, that means at least 3 cars right? Wow...

[Kennyweird]

Couldn't have been much more of an impact than when the ride actually comes to a stop at the end.

 

How true

 

Oh well, freak accidents happen and there's nothing we can do about it.

 

I seriously hope this doesn't mean an end to Wildcat.. its not exactly a noteworthy coaster nowadays, but it's so much fun.

 

I couldn't care less about what happens to it.

[ghost007jas]

Maybe it was raining somewhere in the country and it caused the lift to slip???

 

Well it did rain in California this morning!

 

Maybe they'll scrap it, I mean it looks like it's about to collapse anyway.

[FeelTheFORCE]

I hope they get rid of it. The cars are too small. I'm only 6'1" and my legs are cramped in there. It's been at least 3 or 4 years since I've ridden it, and I have no desire to do so ever again. I've been saying for years that they should scrap Wildcat and get a modern wild mouse similar to Tony Hawk, Dark Knight, etc.

[Dougerz]

That is really unfortunate. My friend and I rode the early part of last week and it didn't seem like there were any problems with it.

 

These things will happen but I don't know if there is an anti-rollback device on the ride...it may just be a straight chain lift.

 

Glad that nobody was hurt but the cars do bump quite a bit once they unload the guests off the ride before they load them into the cars for another cycle.

[andy_e219]

I think this coaster should be removed and replaced with a major coaster, it dosn't fit in with the rest of the coasters in the park. It looks very cheap.

[Airtime&Gravity]

^^With the exception of a euro-fighter, what kind of "major" coaster would the build in its place?

 

Oh well, these things happen, and hopefully the park can get it up and running again. I actually hope that they keep Wildcat as it is a great family coaster in a park filled with many large coasters.

 

Time for society to be sue happy again...

[BeemerBoy]

I hope they get rid of it. The cars are too small. I'm only 6'1" and my legs are cramped in there. It's been at least 3 or 4 years since I've ridden it, and I have no desire to do so ever again. I've been saying for years that they should scrap Wildcat and get a modern wild mouse similar to Tony Hawk, Dark Knight, etc.

 

I'm 6'1", was completely comfortable in it, love it to death, and even have it in my top ten. If they'd like to get rid of it, please, by all means, send it to Lake Winnie. Thanks.

[FeelTheFORCE]

^ How are your knees not jammed into the padding in front of you? My knees were killing me the last time I rode. Cedar Creek Mine Ride is just as bad.

[slither37]

Wildcat broke down on opening day just as I was about to get on.

 

I see suggestions for a Wild Mouse to be built in this coaster's place, Would it fit where Wildcat is now? CP will not want to remove any of that precious concrete in front of it.

[FeelTheFORCE]

^ Unless they moved the laser show, they wouldn't be able to build out into the midway there. There is plenty of space in and around Dodgem's area, though, behind the laser screen, over by MF and it's queue and entrance, and also over by the cars behind Raptor. They could build it in various directions.

[Goliath513]

Does anyone know how long it might be closed for? I'm going to Cedar Point in late June for the first time and I would like to get this credit.

[Carnage]

I see suggestions for a Wild Mouse to be built in this coaster's place, Would it fit where Wildcat is now? CP will not want to remove any of that precious concrete in front of it.

 

Not that they would go for such a cheap replacement, but a stock Maurer spinner like at Waldameer and Seabreeze would probably fit in Wildcat's exact footprint.

[Jew]

Time for society to be suehappy again...

 

Sue happy? It's not frivolous when there's a legit reason to sue. If Cedar Fair didn't already offer to pay for all the costs related to this, I would sue too!

[Airtime&Gravity]

^yeah I thought of that after I posted it.

 

I forgot there are no headrests on this coaster, so I guess the impact is worse than it seems in the article. Since none of the riders had to go to the hospital, I'd assume that Cedar Fair refunded their ticket price or offered free tickets...well I would if I ran the park.

[Skramp]

Time for society to be suehappy again...

 

Sue happy? It's not frivolous when there's a legit reason to sue. If Cedar Fair didn't already offer to pay for all the costs related to this, I would sue too!

 

I kind of understand what he's referring to. I agree about your comments, but I think what he might be referring to is the reasonable vs. ridiculous lawsuits that happen. I agree a lawsuit is warranted here and in every accident, but the problem is with the lawyers that get ahold of these cases.

 

I've been yelled at on here about making almost identical comments, but I don't know if I ever explained my thoughts on it. The problem with our society is not that they sue for the right reasons, they sue for the right reasons but try to make substantial monetary gains from it. I'll give two scenarios.

 

#1-Injured on Wildcat. Suing for 50k for medical costs and 50k for emotional distress/pain and suffering.

 

#2-Injured on Wildcat. Suing for 50k for medical costs and 3.5 million for emotional distress/pain and suffering.

 

#1 is realistic and valid, #2 is absolutely absurd. The problem is situations like #2 happen all the time. I know you can't put a dollar amount on pain and suffering, but really? Come on, do you think it's worth that much? How could a judge not throw that out. It's not just amusement parks either. Remember the judge in DC last year that was suing for like 20 million for his pants not being ready at the dry cleaners? Or the lady who spill McDonald's coffee on her? Those are the kind of lawsuits that ruin our country. They don't happen all the time, but there is enough that go on that it makes our judicial system look ridiculous most of the time.