An Arizona man says he was forced to jump from a moving roller coaster at the last second after his lap bar unlocked in a horrifying life-or-death situation.
The man, who asked not to be identified, said that he was riding the Desert Storm at Castles N' Coasters in Phoenix for his niece's birthday. As they were approaching the first drop on the ride, the man said his lap bar came up, causing him to exit the car out of concern, as reported by FOX 10.
"We start the climb, and you hear the click of the chain of the normal roller coaster," the man told KPNX. "We get just about to the top and I hear a click different from the click of the chain taking us up and so, I checked my lap bar one last time and it released."
The man was able to walk down the emergency stairs next to the ride back to the ground, where he claimed he was yelled at by the ride's operator.
"I told her my lap bar came up, and she yelled at me, 'I told you to check it.' And I just walked down the stairs and kind of broke down because the adrenaline was so much," the customer told FOX 10.
While the operator visually checked the man before the ride started, he claimed that she did not physically check his lap bar. The man said he and other witnesses gave a statement to the park about the incident, but did not get to see the report.
"I think the scariest part was the negligence of their part and just the absolute carelessness that they had throughout the entire thing," he told KPNX.
The customer and his family received a refund from the park. Castles N' Coasters did not return either of the outlets' requests for comment.
