Do not wiggle out of a roller coaster. A New York student was killed Monday while riding in a stand-up roller coaster called Shockwave at Paramount Kings Dominion amusement park just north of Richmond. A spokeswoman for the park said that although the rider was not in the train when it returned to the station, the restraint system had not failed, nor was human error a factor. Rider misconduct was suspected. The 2-minute Shockwave coaster carries passengers through a loop, a side spiral, and an inverted loop.
Passengers straddle a bicycle-style seat, with their feet firmly on the platform.
An investigation revealed that the youth had engineered his own death by wriggling out of the harness so he could raise his hands in the air. During the first loop, his unrestrained body was thrown from the car to a catwalk, were they found him dead from a massive head wound. I guess you could say he had the thrill of his life. Do not duck under a roller coaster. It turns out that such tragedies are less common than folklore would have us believe.