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Universal Studios coaster strands riders 17 stories high for nearly 3 hours
Published December 01, 2015
A dozen thrill seekers were stuck for more than two hours 17 stories above an Orlando amusement park Wednesday, sitting flat on their backs, facing the sky and secured only by their lap bars.
The train stopped near the top of the first hill of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios at around 7 p.m. Local news media reported that riders were finally freed after 9 p.m. Park officials told reporters a glitch caused the computers to go into safety mode, stopping the ride.
"The ride was going in the up position at a 90-degree angle when it stopped," a fire official told ABC News. "It was just a long, tedious process to get everybody out and secure safely and to a safe platform so we could extricate them."
Orlando Fire Rescue was on scene. One of the riders reportedly suffered neck pain and was taken to a hospital.
The ride, which climbs straight up 17 stories above the park and reaches top speeds of 65 mph. Each rider is allowed to choose their own genre of music on the ride.
The ride was previously closed for two days in August. The coaster came to a sudden stop, which caused one woman to sustain a minor injury. A fire spokesman told The Orlando Sentinel that the ride will remain closed until crews determine the cause of the glitch.
Over the summer, a Texas woman died while riding on a coaster at a Six Flags amusement park in North Texas.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/universal-studios-coaster-strands-riders-17-stories-high-for-nearly-3-hours