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View Full Version : Busch Gardens gets jealous, takes a life, too


Conveyor Belt
07-26-2006, 10:08 AM
I guess it was only a matter of time before Busch Gardens got jealous of the Mouse and started taking lives, too.

Thomas M. Welch, 52, of Palm Harbor, was responsive and talking after riding the Gwazi roller coaster Monday morning, but quickly lost consciousness, spokesman Gerard Hoeppner said.

Paramedics attempted CPR and used a defibrillator, but Welch was later pronounced dead at University Community Hospital, Hoeppner said.

The ride was closed briefly after the incident to make sure it was functioning properly, Hoeppner said.

A telephone call placed to the Florida Fair Rides Inspection Bureau was not answered.

Gwazi reaches 50 mph at its highest speed and drops from a 90-foot lift, but does not go upside down, Hoeppner said.

The Gwazi is a wooden coaster, if memory serves correctly. I can understand the back pain, it's a pretty rough ride.

I guess it's only a matter of time before Universal takes a few to even out the score...

justme
07-26-2006, 10:19 AM
I hate to heaar all of this becuase I am a theme park junkie. I love rollercoasters. Mission Space at Disney is just a bad ride, but a woody??? Doesn't make sense to me that a wooden rollercoaster would cause someone's death. Some sort of pre-exsisting condition attributed to this one too I am sure.

58ford
07-26-2006, 10:50 AM
I love Busch Gardens.
The Eagles, the peacocks, etc.
Not a big ride fan myself.
Tragic that someone could go to have a good time & end up dead for their trouble.
People in poor health really should be more careful of their activities, but I guess any of us could have some thing wrong with us that could just pop out & kill us at any moment.
Spooky.

My favorite ride used to be the big swing at Jazz Land.
I wonder if it will ever be functional again?