Five people were hospitalized and several others were injured after riding a roller coaster at Six Flags last night (Aug. 25). Park officials and local police officers in New Jersey shared that the incident happened on the El Toro ride around 7:30 p.m.
According to the Jackson Township Police Department, no officers were dispatched to the scene as riders suffered minor injuries. Some theme park guests complained of back pains and one person claimed to have bit their tongue during the ride. The Six Flags New Jersey official website describes El Toro as one of the tallest and fastest wooden roller coasters on the planet. The first drop happens at 176 feet and the ride goes as fast as 70 miles per hour.
El Toro, which means “the bull” in Spanish, first opened at Six Flags in 2006. It is said to be the main attraction in the Mexican-themed area of the theme park. In 2021, New Jersey’s Department of Community Affairs temporarily shut the ride down after it partially derailed. No park guests were hurt, as reported by Fox News. Last February, Six Flags released a statement following that incident. “El Toro is expected to reopen this spring following extensive testing, inspections by internal and external experts, and state certification,” they said.
Social media users were surprised that the ride had another malfunction in such a short period of time. “Second major incident on El Toro within the last year and a half. C’mon Six Flags, this isn’t how you attract the ‘target’ customers,” a tweet read. Attached to the tweet was a screenshot of a Facebook post from a user who claimed to have been on El Toro last night.
“Just got off of El Toro and it felt like it hit a pothole after [the third] drop before it turns around,” the post said. It added that a few people “said they couldn’t breathe for a bit” before referring to the situation as “scary.” Sources say the Six Flags ride is currently closed while the incident is investigated.