Rollercoaster Drops Riders 34 Feet on Same Day It Passes Safety Inspection

Though we're told amusement parks take so many precautions that rollercoasters only feel dangerous, occasionally the worst does happen.

Just this Thursday evening, two people were thrown off a rollercoaster in Daytona Beach when a car derailed. The riders dropped 34 feet, and the two other passengers were left dangling over the Daytona Beach Boardwalk for over half an hour.

The Daytona Beach Fire Department rescued 10 people from the ride in total. The two passengers who fell were reportedly alert when taken to the hospital, which CNN reports "received nine patients." All but two of them were discharged by Friday afternoon. 

Shockingly, the ride had passed a safety inspection that very morning. Though it had failed two inspections in May, those problems were said to have been addressed. After the incident, it was inspected yet again and listed as deficient, with "structural integrity: other," according to CNN

The ride has running at Daytona Beach for five years and is called the Sand Blaster. It was purchased from a closed amusement park in Delaware in 2012, though it was operated at other parks before under different names over the last 40 years.

According to inspection reports that were released to the AP, just last month an inspector found "excessive corrosion, a damaged seat, and a crack in the track." Follow-up reports showed those problems as having been corrected. 

“Department inspectors conducted a thorough inspection of the ride, and it was found in compliance with state law,” said Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services spokeswoman Jennifer Meale in a statement. “Anyone who should be held accountable will be held accountable.”

h/tCNN, AP

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James Chrisman is a News Writer at Thrillist. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @james_chrisman2.