Six Flags Great Adventure is one of the world’s best amusement parks, and its Kingda Ka roller coaster is one of the world’s best, with a height of 45 stories and top speeds of 128 miles per hour. When you’re zooming around at that speed you expect thrills, but not a bird in the face. For one young man who rode last week, he indeed experienced the unexpected. The train was, fortunately, traveling at less than full speed, on its return to the station when the collision occurred. The rider suffered face and neck injuries and was treated at a local hospital.
12 year old Shane Matus described what happened to him:
“When it hit me I was like, ‘What the-? Did somebody throw a ball or something?’ When I started spitting out feathers, I was like, that was a bird,†said Shane.
Shane showed NBC10 the bruises and scratches on his neck and face from where the bird struck him. Shane believes the bird was a pigeon.
“They say the bird exploded,†said Shane. “It hurt a lot for like three seconds. People behind us had feathers and blood all over them.â€
The coaster was returning to the station when Shane collided with the bird. He tells NBC10 he turned his head towards the parking lot when he heard a car alarm seconds before impact.
“If that car alarm didn’t go off, it would’ve hit me dead in the eye,†said Shane.
We’re glad to hear Shane has had a fine recovery and await PETA’s protest over the bird’s treatment.
Related articles
- Boy hit by bird on US roller coaster (todayonline.com)
- N.J. Boy Recounts Extremely Close Encounter With Bird At Six Flags (newyork.cbslocal.com)
- Bird crashes into face of coaster rider (upi.com)
- ‘Feathers and blood’: Bird hits boy in face on high-speed rollercoaster (usnews.nbcnews.com)
