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Son of Beast to remain closed for season

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Staff photo by Ty Greenlees Ty Greenlees/The Son of Beast wooden roller coaster, shown Friday, April 28, 2000.

By Eric Schwartzberg, Staff Writer Updated 8:36 AM Tuesday, August 11, 2009

MASON — Son of Beast will roar no more this season.

Kings Island officials announced Monday afternoon, Aug. 10, that the wooden roller coaster would remain closed for the remainder of the season.

Park officials voluntarily shut down the ride June 16 when a 39-year-old Mason woman reported she had been admitted to the intensive care unit of Bethesda North Hospital on May 31 after sustaining a burst blood vessel in her brain as a result of riding the coaster that day.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Amusement Ride Safety Division issued a report July 29, stating inspectors had found no irregularities with the ride.

“However, after numerous reviews by park officials, we are not completely satisfied with the ride experience and have chosen to keep Son of Beast closed for the remainder of the season,” said spokesman Don Helbig. “We will not decide what steps we plan to take concerning the ride until the offseason.”

ODA inspectors traveled to Kings Island June 24 to check the coaster and park officials provided documentation of the ride’s history and maintenance, a pre-opening log for the day of the incident, proof of operating training, proof of insurance and a roster of operators.

Safety division inspectors tested the roller coaster and interviewed ride operators during their investigation.

Since Son of Beast opened in 2000, 65 incidents statewide involving injury on amusement rides were reported, according to ODA records. Injuries were reported as a result of Son of Beast six times, more than any other ride in Ohio.

Of those six incidents, just one in 2006 was determined to involve a design flaw.

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