Water Ride Accident at Cedar Point in Ohio Injures 7 as Raft Flips

A raft on a water ride at Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio flipped over, injuring all seven people on board.

The accident occurred on the Shoot the Rapids ride during the first go round of Friday at the park in Sandusky. Cedar Point officials said six individuals on the ride were treated by medical personnel at the park and released while a seventh was taken to an area hospital for further evaluation.

The ride was subsequently closed by state inspectors until it could be determined was caused the malfunction.

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Cedar Point officials refused to provide any further details on the accident, saying in a statement that "the safety of our guests is our number one priority," the Lansing State Journal reported.

Witnesses to the accident told the Sandusky Register that the raft, which can hold up to 10 people, capsized after it rolled backward downhill.

Visitors, ride operators, park police officers, and medical technicians rushed into the water to help passengers off the boat, the Lansing State Journal reported.

"One of the cars . . . came down off that hill, and people were still in it. They were trapped," witness Matthew Orr, 26, of Euclid, OH, told the Sandusky Register newspaper.
"We jumped in and helped them get out. If we didn't help, I don't even know what would have happened, Orr added. "It took nine or 10 people to pull the car up."

At least one woman who was in the ride appeared to have suffered severe head injuries, according to Orr, who added that some of the riders, which included children, were submerged for a few minutes before rescuers could get to them.

The Shoot the Rapids ride opened in 2010 and "feels like a real wild river adventure with canyons, a tunnel and something unexpected around every corner!" according to the Cedar Point website.

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The ride "takes you up and splashes you down. Then it takes you up again and, well, the rest is a surprise," the online description adds.

Cedar Point, which is owned by the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, has other amusement park locations in Lake Erie, Cleveland and Toledo, and was rated the best amusement park in the world for 15 years in a row, the Lansing State Journal reported.

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