by Laura Heffner
Rosy Esparza got on the Texas Giant the Six Flags over Texas for the last roller coaster ride of her life. Unfortunately for her son, who was seated next to her, he watched as she fell from the coaster to her death. As witnesses say, she had been concerned about her lap bar being secure. Though details are sketchy, there were plenty of witnesses as she fell 75-feet to her death.
When I clicked on several of the articles at different news sites to see if I could garner information and details from different sources, the same picture of Rosy (Rosa) was in each article. Rosy was a bigger built lady and it made me think of my last time I visited an amusement park. Being larger built, I avoided some rides as you pretty much had to be squeezed into the ride's seat. I've never been a huge fan of roller coasters and scary rides. When I gained weight, I was even less enthused as it seemed I too wondered if the lap bar would hold.
Maybe my fears were not unfounded. Maybe her lap bar had failed or not actually engaged. I do not know about the intricate physics that is most likely involved in making sure that the cars stay on the tracks for a roller coaster. I'm sure the cars can only be a certain size and with so many of us now of larger girths, are we overloading the systems? Or is it just that an employee did not do their job and make certain the lap bar was locked? I know they walk along and pull up on the bars to check them, did they that time?
Hopefully they look closer at their safety features, maybe that if not all the lap bars are securely locked the cars will not move. Whatever the reason for Rosy to fall to her death in front of her son, Six Flags has been shutting down multiple coasters around their parks as a precaution until the cause has been discovered. I feel for her son as this will be with him always.
All I know is, I have another reason to not like amusement parks...
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