Cedar Point closes Millennium Force after bracket falls from ride car into guest area

Cedar Point has taken its Millennium Force roller coaster out of service after a small metal bracket came loose from one of the ride's cars on Friday and fell into an area used by park guests, according to reports from several outlets.

No one was hit by the falling part, and no injuries were reported. Gray News, in a report from Cleveland station WOIO carried by KWCH 12 and other stations, cited Sara Gordon of Six Flags Entertainment as saying the bracket struck neither visitors nor employees at the Sandusky, Ohio, park.

WLWT 5 reported that a park statement, first obtained by Cleveland station WKYC, said "No guests or team members were struck, and no injuries were reported." The statement said the coaster was closed right away under established procedures.

The ride will stay closed while the park conducts its own review and the state carries out an additional inspection, according to the park's statement as reported by both WLWT 5 and Gray News. The park did not say when Millennium Force might reopen.

The closure comes days after a fatal incident at another park owned by Six Flags, Cedar Point's parent company. On Monday, a man died after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, the outlets reported. WLWT 5 said the man was 42 years old and had come loose from the ride's safety restraints.

Following the Georgia death, Six Flags temporarily closed nine rides at six of its parks that were similar to Goliath, according to Gray News. WLWT 5 reported that two of those, Diamondback and Orion at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, remained closed, with the company describing them as built similarly to Goliath.

None of the reports indicated any connection between the Georgia incident and the loose bracket at Cedar Point.

Millennium Force opened at Cedar Point in 2000, WLWT 5 noted, and was the first roller coaster in the world to be classified as a giga coaster, a category for coasters taller than 300 feet.

Compiled by True News from reporting by WLWT 5, KWCH 12, Dakota News Now and Live 5 News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/205