Canada’s Wonderland closes Leviathan and Behemoth after roller coaster death in Georgia

Canada’s Wonderland has closed two of its roller coasters after one man was killed and four others injured on a similar ride at Six Flags Over Georgia, a theme park outside Atlanta.

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Both parks are owned and operated by U.S.-based Six Flags, which has 34 properties in North America and two in Saudi Arabia. Canada’s Wonderland is its only Canadian location, after Montreal’s La Ronde was sold to EPR Properties of Missouri in May.

“I can confirm our coasters Leviathan and Behemoth were closed yesterday,” a Canada’s Wonderland spokesperson told National Post. “We do not have a timeline for reopening.”

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The spokesperson added: “Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily closed similar attractions across our parks. The safety of our guests and team members is our highest priority.”

The park remains open Thursdays through Sundays (its regular fall hours) this month.

The death at Six Flags Over Georgia happened on Monday, according to local news reports. A man reportedly fell from Goliath, which the park refers to as a “hypercoaster,” meaning it has a height of least 61 metres. The ride, introduced in 2006, reaches speeds of 112 km/h.

The man, who has been identified by police as 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem of Atlanta, was reportedly thrown from his seat, fell, and hit the ride multiple times. The park was evacuated after the incident.

CNN reported that what caused Kariem to fall off the roller coaster remains unclear, and that the cause of death has not been disclosed, nor have details of other injuries in the incident.

The accident left a number of riders in the next train of cars stuck on a steep incline when the ride was halted. News footage showed park workers rescuing those riders and leading them down the steep, open-air stairwell to the ground.

Six Flags temporarily closed nine roller coasters across six amusement parks on Monday, including the two at Canada’s Wonderland. Behemoth and Leviathan were both manufactured by Bollinger and Mabillard, the same company that made Goliath.

Montreal’s La Ronde amusement park also has a Bollinger and Mabillard-built Goliath roller coaster, and announced it would temporarily shut it down until an update is received from the manufacturer.

Canada’s Wonderland opened in 1981 in Vaughan, Ont., just north of Toronto. It was acquired by Paramount and became Paramount Canada’s Wonderland in 1993, but reverted to its original name after it was purchased by U.S.-based Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. in 2006. Cedar Fair and Six Flags merged in 2024.

The park boasts 18 roller coasters. The Behemoth opened in 2008 and features a climb to a height of 70 metres, followed by a 75-degree drop with speeds reaching 125 km/h, and a track length of over 1.6 kms. The Leviathan, which opened four years later, has a climb 97.7 metres and an 80-degree drop, reaching speeds of 148 km/h.

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