Two visitors to Six Flags were arrested after they got off the Fireball roller coaster on July 15 and allegedly assaulted the ride operator. Eureka Police said the ride operator, a 16-year-old Cahokia, Ill., man was assaulted by a 21-year-old female from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a 25-year-old male from East St. Louis, Ill., after the roller coaster stopped.
The ride features a giant seven-story loop with passengers sitting face-to-face or back-to-back in cars, according to Six Flags’ website. The ride begins by swinging the cars back and forth on the track in a pendulum style before there is enough momentum to swing them upside-down on the track. The park’s website says the operator has complete control to determine how long passengers hang upside down.
Eureka Police said someone became sick while on the roller coaster and wanted the operator to stop the ride. Because the ride was about to finish, the operator didn’t stop it immediately, the report said.
When the operator was helping passengers off the ride, the woman punched him in the face and then the male also punched him. The operator fell to the ground and other unidentified people struck him while he was down, police reported.
Unidentified people were able to pull the operator away and ended the fight. The ride operator was treated at the park’s first aid station for minor abrasions to his face, and he declined additional medical treatment, the report said.
Eureka Police will seek third-degree assault charges against the man and woman through the Eureka Municipal Court.