“It could have been unlocked and gone like a steamroller through the parking lot, plowing through pedestrians and cars and anything else in its path,” he told The Washington Post.
The tragedy did not happen. Wagner’s report led Carowinds to close Fury 325, which the amusement park described as “the tallest, fastest, tallest giga coaster in North America.” One of the park’s attractions, the 1¼-mile ride reaches speeds of 95 mph and climbs to a maximum of 325 feet before dropping riders into a dramatic 81-degree drop and a 190 -foot-tall barrel turn. In a statement, Carowinds said the park’s maintenance crew is conducting “a thorough inspection” of the ride, which “will remain closed until repairs are completed.” A spokeswoman did not provide a timeline for when the ride is expected to open.
“Safety is our top priority and we appreciate the patience and understanding of our valued guests during this process,” spokeswoman Courtney Weber wrote in a statement to The Post. “As part of our comprehensive safety protocols, all rides, including the Fury 325, undergo daily inspections to ensure proper operation and structural integrity.”
Weber did not answer questions about how long Carowinds stopped the trip after receiving Wagner’s report.
A season pass holder, Wagner, 45, arrived at Carowinds Friday morning with her 14-year-old daughter, 12-year-old niece, her son and her son’s friend, both 13. The five-man crew spent the next several hours riding, breaking for lunch in the mid-afternoon, and then hitting several rides. By the end of the day, his daughter and niece had ridden the Fury 325 eight times; his son and his friend have been three or four times.
Around 6 p.m., Wagner was ready to call it a day. The children, however, wanted to continue, so he made a compromise. He would make the long journey to get his truck out of the parking lot and drive to the front entrance to pick them up. On the other hand, kids can squeeze in a few more rides.
So that’s what he did. While waiting near the entrance, Wagner looked at the roller coasters, admiring the engineering that made them possible. As he looked at the Fury 325, a car hit one of the turns of the trip, sticking to the track and causing what appeared to be a crack in a steel support pillar. At first, Wagner dismissed the idea that he had just found a flaw. He thought the crack was part of the structural design.
Wagner scanned the support systems of other rides to support that idea but found nothing like it. He turned his attention to the Fury 325 as it hit another car at the turn. This time, he saw a light burst through the widening crack before the car passed by and the crack shrunk. He knew something was wrong.
Wagner got out of the truck, flagged down a Carowinds employee and pointed to the crack.
“I was like, ‘You have to close this trip. That’s bad news,’” Wagner recalled telling the man.
Dissatisfied with what he described as the man’s “lack of urgency,” Wagner returned to the park where he spoke to several employees. Eventually he spoke to someone in guest services, who asked him to send him the video he took of the crack. When he did, Wagner said, he walked away.
“The biggest thing for me, there’s no sense of urgency,” he said. Carowinds did not immediately respond Sunday night to a request for comment on Wagner’s allegation of a lack of urgency.
Wagner left, nervous. During the hour-long drive home, his fear consumed him. He learned that the Fury 325 is one of the amusement park’s attractions and will be especially available during the fourth week of July during the park’s 50th anniversary. He feared the pillar would fail, sending a car tumbling off the rail and diving into a crowd below. When tragedy strikes and Wagner does nothing to stop the trip, he knows he will blame himself and forever wonder if he could have prevented it.
On the trip home, Wagner called Carowinds but got through the park’s automated phone system, he said. After returning, he called the fire department in Carowinds jurisdiction. Someone there told Wagner, who is a volunteer firefighter, that he had a direct line to the park security people and would contact them. Ten minutes later, the firefighter called back to tell Wagner that the amusement park had closed the ride.
Relief replaced Wagner’s fear.
He said he was glad Carowinds closed the ride, he had no ill will towards the park and he trusted its engineers to fix the Fury 325 and make it safe again.
“It’s probably better, safer than before,” he said.
He said his family will continue to go to Carowinds and that he plans to take his children on the Fury 325 when it reopens.
