US woman dies riding roller coaster

UNITED STATES - A woman who died while riding a roller coaster at an amusement park in Texas on Friday fell from the ride, a police sergeant said.

Sgt Christopher Cook said there appears to have been no foul play in the incident at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. Park spokesman Sharon Parker said the woman died while riding the Texas Giant roller coaster - dubbed the tallest steel-hybrid coaster in the world - but did not specify how she was killed.

Some witnesses said the woman who died wasn't properly secured.

"We are committed to determining the cause of this tragic accident and will utilise every resource throughout this process," Ms Parker said on Saturday.

Sgt Cook, spokesman for the Arlington Police Department, said police, fire and emergency medical services were dispatched to the park around 6.45pm on Friday, responding to information about a woman who had fallen while riding a roller coaster.

Investigating

He said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, reported AP.

He said the park and the Texas Department of Insurance, which approves amusement rides and ensures they are inspected, will be involved in further investigating the accident.

A family in line behind the woman, identified by family members to MyFoxDFW.com as Rosy Esparza, said Ms Esparza was on the ride with her daughter and son-in-law.

The family said her seat restraint seemed to go down normally before the car left, reported Fox News. They said when the train came back, the seat restraint was down.

Ms Carmen Brown told The Dallas Morning News that she was waiting in line to get on the Texas Giant when the accident happened and witnessed the woman being strapped in.

Ms Brown, of Arlington, said: "They didn't secure her right.

"One of the employees from the park - one of the ladies - she asked her to click her more than once, and they were like, 'As long as you heard it click, you're OK.'

Everybody else is like, 'Click, click, click.'

"Hers clicked only once. Hers was the only one that went down once and she didn't feel safe, but they let her still get on the ride," she said.

Six Flags said the ride will be closed as the investigation continues.

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