On Friday, July 19, a 52-year-old mother of two, Rose Irene Ayala-Gaona, fell 75 feet to her death from the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags. The incident brought into question the safety of amusement rides.

Identified by her family as Rosy Esparza, it has been reported that she was concerned that the safety restraint wasn’t closed correctly while she was getting on the ride. The ride workers let her continue on the ride, though, leading to her fatal fall when the coaster plunged down its first hill and her restraint released. Six Flags said that the Texas Giant would be closed as they conduct their own investigation of the event but the park will remain open.

One woman who was next in line to ride the Texas Giant and witnessed Esparza enter the coaster was Carmen Brown.

“They didn’t secure her right. One of the employees from the park — one of the ladies — she asked her to click her more than once, and they were like, ‘As long you heard it click, you’re OK,” describes Brown.

A study on the safety of amusement rides was conducted in 2011 by the National Safety Council and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. The study concluded that the chance of being seriously injured on an amusement park ride was 1 in 24 million, and that the chance of a fatal injury was 1 in 750 million.

In response to the woman falling off a roller coaster at Six Flags, Erin King, a sophomore at SHS, said, “It makes me wonder how thoroughly they think about our safety and whether or not they care.”

There are no federal safety regulations for amusement rides in the US, but states each have their own regulations for safety.

Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey said in a statement regarding amusement ride safety, “A baby stroller is subject to tougher federal regulation than a roller coaster carrying a child in excess of 100 miles per hour.”

“They should check [the rides] often,” said an anonymous freshman.

Living less than an hour from major tourist attractions Universal and Disney World, many Central Floridians have yearly passes for the amusement parks and visit them often.

Disney World has had a number of injuries and deaths of passengers on rides in its history. In 2011, a 52-year-old employee received fatal injuries while working on the Primeval Whirl ride and in 2012, a 36 year-old woman had a seizure riding Dinosaur.

“I think they need to make the rides more safer,” said freshman Devan Dickson.

While multiple deaths occur on numerous amusement rides each year, they are generally considered safe providing that the passenger follows all safety precautions for a ride. It is advised also that if a passenger ever feels unsafe at all when getting on a ride, that they should immediately get off and inform personnel.