Man jumps out of roller coaster after he says lap bar unlocked: ‘I didn’t want to die that day'

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) – An amusement park guest said he experienced a terrifying mishap on a ride at Castles N’ Coasters in Phoenix on Sunday.

The man, who didn’t want to be named, claims his safety lap bar unlocked at the beginning of the ride, right before the big drop on the Desert Storm, a double-loop roller coaster.

Video capturing the incident shows the man jumping out of the roller coaster and onto the platform at the apex of the ride, just milliseconds before the coaster plunges down a hill.

“It was just adrenaline, and I didn’t want to die that day,” he said. “As soon as the lap bar went up, I just didn’t really think about it, I just jumped out.”

While the roller coaster had multiple other riders on it at the time, it appears no one else’s lap bar became unlocked.

The rider climbed down the emergency stairs and back to the roller coaster’s loading station, where he told an employee about what happened.

He believes he could have died if it wasn’t for his quick thinking, as the Desert Storm takes riders upside-down twice.

“It could have been somebody younger or older, not as agile, right? Luckily, it was me, and I was able to think fast on my feet and get out, but it could have ended differently,” he said.

The rider said the park manager offered him a refund and took a report of the incident, but the rider said he wants more to be done.

In Arizona, the state does not oversee regulations of amusement park rides but requires rides to be inspected at least once a year. State law says it’s up to municipalities and counties to enforce compliance.

“[There should be] 100% more regulation within the state, better training for the employees … them actually checking the bars themselves, making sure they’re actually latched,” the rider said.

Since the incident, the ride appeared to be closed.

KPHO has not yet heard back from Castles N’ Coasters for comment.

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