SANDUSKY, Ohio (WJW) — What started as a fun Sunday night at Cedar Point quickly turned into a frightening experience for Ryan and his family.
“Me and my two daughters were next in line, standing directly below the drop towers,” Ryan said. “I heard a twing type of sound—like tension being released—and then this giant cable came down. It was like slow motion.”
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Ryan said a cable snapped on Cedar Point’s Power Tower—an almost 300-foot-tall vertical drop attraction that towers over the middle of the park.
“I yelled, ‘Oh my God!’ It happened so fast. Then the cable hit the guard tower, and it sounded like the earth was coming to an end. That’s when everyone started freaking out, scattering, and running,” he said.
The park immediately evacuated riders and shut down the attraction. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
“That guard shack was 10 feet from us,” Ryan said. “It was very close to being a bad situation.”
According to Cedar Point, a single cable detached from one of the ride vehicles. A spokesperson said the ride’s safety system worked as designed and all guests exited safely.
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For many visitors on Monday, the incident was still on their minds.
“That’s scary—you think about what could happen to people on these rides,” parkgoer Katrina Rueberger said. “It also makes you wonder how often they test the rides, inspections and things that need to be done.”
The Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Amusement Ride Safety Division said it is investigating the incident.
“ODA’s Amusement Ride Safety Division and its inspectors have placed a Stop Operation Order on the ride and are working with Cedar Point and the ride’s manufacturer to determine the cause of the incident. The Stop Operation Order will be released upon a complete reinspection of the ride,” the department said in a statement on Monday.
The ride will remain closed until a complete reinspection is finished.
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“It broke from the top. Whatever the weight of a steel cable falling from 250 feet is, it was like a giant whip. It was scary,” said Ryan.
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