At least five people were injured Thursday night during their ride on the El Toro roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, and have been rushed to local area hospitals.
Local police and park officials said several park attendees that complained about back pain after disembarking from the roller coaster at roughly 7:30 p.m., according to The New York Post. At least five of them required a medical assessment and possible treatment, and were transported by emergency responders dispatched to the park, according to The New York Post.
Multiple riders injured on El Toro coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure https://t.co/z536YVN4JS pic.twitter.com/AgMUMELYuE
— New York Post (@nypost) August 26, 2022
All the complainants had ridden the El Toro, but the cause of their pain and injuries was not immediately clear, according to The New York Post. The Jackson Township Police Department assured the public that the majority of the injuries were minor, and confirmed that police officers were not dispatched to the scene of the incident.
Some riders reported they bit their tongues while on the ride. A woman who was on the ride described the incident she experienced first-hand. “It felt like [the roller coaster] hit a pothole” after the third drop,” she wrote to the park’s Facebook page, according to The New York Post.(RELATED: 17- And 19-Year-Old Shot As Three Injured In Amusement Park Parking Lot)
Seeing reports of an incident on El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure. Footage of employees walking the track. Multiple ambulances at the scene: pic.twitter.com/uoxrcviOJF
— ThrillGeek (@thrillgeek) August 26, 2022
The park released a statement Friday afternoon, giving fans and park attendees of the most recent updates on the matter.
“El Toro, the Intamin prefabricated wooden coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure, malfunctioned around 7:30pm yesterday evening and is closed until further notice,” Coasterforce wrote.
“Five guests were transported to hospital after suffering minor injuries. Riders said they felt a big bump after the small airtime hill toward the end of the ride. It is believed that the train did not derail, as happened during an incident last June that kept the ride shut for the remainder of 2021,” Six Flags wrote.