Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, died Monday after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Cobb County Police identified him Tuesday. Kariem managed IT, taught technology and coached robotics at an Atlanta public charter school. Police said he was ejected and struck other patrons as he fell.
Around 4 p.m. Monday, someone found a man beneath the ride, “unresponsive and not breathing.” Police said several people suffered injuries, but wouldn’t say how many or how badly. Visitors had paid to strap themselves into a machine that flings riders at 70 mph, 200 feet above the ground. One rider didn’t come back down alive.
What the Witnesses Saw
Witnesses described what happened first. “He fell and hit the car three different times” before landing on the roof of a haunted house attraction below, one witness told CNN affiliate WXIA. Another said the falling man appeared in the ride’s souvenir photo. “He was in our pictures,” the witness said. Think about that. The company’s camera captured the moment, and the company would have sold him the image as a keepsake.
CiCi Nelson waited in line as a cart arrived with an empty seat and hysterical riders. She said the empty seat’s safety bar looked loose, and a young passenger seemed to be covered in blood. One man was “freaking out, saying someone fell off” and pleading with staff to call for help. Then staff told Nelson and the others to evacuate. CNN reviewed aerial footage that showed riders stopped on a steep incline before staff led them down a high stairway.
Who Decides What’s ‘Safe’
Brian Avery, a University of Florida professor specializing in ride safety and risk management, said the Goliath has a waist restraint but no over-the-shoulder harness, a secondary restraint he believes should be considered. “If you have your primary fail, what are you left with? Yeah, nothing,” he said. Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard called the accident “tragic” and said it wouldn’t comment further “until we have a better understanding of what transpired.”
Six Flags said every ride “undergoes extensive inspection and maintenance procedures,” with daily checks by park teams and evaluations by third parties, including state ride inspectors and insurance inspectors. The company reviews itself, insurers weigh the cost, and the state signs off. The Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, which oversees ride inspections, has launched its own investigation and said it will “ensure full compliance with all applicable policies and procedures.” Following procedure isn’t the same as keeping a body in its seat.
At least 10 similar rides across six parks in the US and Canada closed temporarily, several of them hypercoasters over 200 feet. Six Flags called the closures a precaution. Six Flags Over Georgia will reopen Friday, as scheduled. The Goliath stays closed. The turnstiles don’t.
The Man at the Center
Kariem worked for more than 12 years at Wesley International Academy, a public charter school in Atlanta. Executive Director Jason Marshall said the school is “devastated by the loss of Hassan Kariem, affectionately known as Mr. Kariem.” Former student Soledad Gomez recalled him simply: “He never got mad at us ... He was always patient with us. He would joke with us.” He inspired her to pursue a degree in elementary education. Her brother Juan Pablo Gomez said Kariem’s class sparked his interest in information technology, now his major.
His sister, Andrea Clark, 35, told the New York Post he’d been in remission from cancer since 2015, 11 years as of 2026, and had survived a car fire just weeks before. “He’s an amazing person,” she said through tears. “He had other issues, but he’s healthy, he was able-bodied. I don’t understand it.” He worked hard to provide for his family and helped raise his fiancée’s daughter, whom he’d known since she was 3.
Clark also pleaded with strangers to stop sharing images of her brother’s final moments. “That’s just evil,” she said. “It’s tragic, and I feel like we’ve gone too far as a society.”
Police haven’t determined what caused Kariem to fall. Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit are asking anyone with information to come forward.