Table 1

Roller coaster related fatalities, United States, 15 May 1994–14 May 2004

Case	Age	Sex	Patron/employee	Cause of death	Description of incident
1	14	F	Patron	Medical condition	Collapsed on ride; died of cardiac condition
2	25	M	Employee	External trauma	Caught in moving equipment while attempting to cross tracks
3	13	F	Patron	Medical condition	Collapsed on ride; died of cardiac arrhythmia
4	77	M	Patron	Medical condition	Died 13 days after bumping head on ride and developing subdural hematoma; was on anticoagulants
5	14	F	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride either from failure of restraints or while attempting to stand
6	25	F	Employee	External trauma	Hit by roller coaster while crossing track
7	14	M	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride after collision with car whose anti-rollback device failed
8	14	F	Patron	Medical condition	Died of asthma attack after roller coaster ride; had history of asthma
9	49	M	Patron	Medical condition	Died 1 day after ride from complications of subdural hematoma
10	44	F	Employee	External trauma	Fell from roller coaster catwalk; was intoxicated
11	51	M	Employee	External trauma	Struck by roller coaster while working on track
12	56	F	Patron	Medical condition	Lapsed into unconsciousness shortly after ride; died 1 day later of intracranial hemorrhage
13	40	M	Employee	External trauma	Struck in head by roller coaster while trimming grass under ride
14	25	M	Patron	External trauma	Struck in head by passenger’s leg while attempting to retrieve hat from restricted area
15	46	F	Patron	Medical condition	Died 14 days after ride of subdural hematoma; was on anticoagulants
16	20	M	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride after freeing himself from safety restraints
17	39	F	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride after anti-rollback device failed
18	8	F	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride after anti-rollback device failed
19	12	M	Patron	Medical condition	Suffered respiratory arrest while on roller coaster; cause of death unknown
20	58	F	Patron	Medical condition	Lapsed into unconsciousness on ride; died 2 days later of intracranial hemorrhage
21	30	M	Patron	Medical condition	Died 1 hour after ride of heart attack
22	23	F	Patron	Medical condition	Collapsed following ride; died of intracranial hemorrhage
23	28	F	Patron	Medical condition	Collapsed on ride; died of ruptured cerebral aneurysm
24	23	M	Employee	External trauma	Hit in head by roller coaster while trimming weeds under track
25	20	F	Patron	Medical condition	Found unresponsive at end of ride; died of ruptured cerebral aneurysm
26	52	F	Patron	Medical condition	Lapsed into unconsciousness on ride; died of heart attack
27	7	M	Patron	External trauma	Died of internal abdominal injuries after being thrown forward when ride came to abrupt stop
28	16	F	Patron	Medical condition	Died 1 hour after ride of aortic laceration; had Marfan’s Syndrome
29	39	F	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride after failure of restraints; was morbidly obese
30	58	M	Employee	External trauma	Struck in head by patron’s legs while in restricted area
31	48	M	Employee	External trauma	Fell from aerial lift while painting roller coaster
32	43	M	Employee	External trauma	Hit from behind by roller coaster while performing maintenance
33	11	F	Patron	Medical condition	Found unresponsive after ride; died of cardiac condition
34	32	F	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride while attempting to stand
35	34	F	Patron	Medical condition	Collapsed on ride and died of heart attack
36	40	M	Employee	External trauma	Caught by moving equipment while performing maintenance and thrown to his death
37	22	M	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride after roller coaster car derailed
38	34	F	Patron	Medical condition	Collapsed on ride and died of heart attack
39	21	F	Employee	External trauma	Struck by roller coaster while crossing track
40	55	M	Patron	External trauma	Ejected from ride after failure of restraints; was morbidly obese and had cerebral palsy