Celebration Of Life Set For Man Killed After Fall From Six Flags Roller Coaster

The 42-year-old Atlanta educator fatally fell from a Six Flags Over Georgia roller coaster.

By Amanda Lumpkin, Patch Staff

Oct 19, 2026 10:01 AM EDT | Updated Oct 19, 2026 10:04 AM EDT

In this photo provided by Kelvin Johnson, Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem is shown in an undated photo. Kariem, an Atlanta resident, died after he was thrown from his seat while riding a rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (Kelvin Johnson via AP)

ATLANTA, GA — The educator killed after falling from a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia will be memorialized at a celebration of life service Monday in Atlanta, according to his obituary.

The service for Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, 560 Fayetteville Road SE. The interment will then take place at Resthaven Cemetery, the obituary stated.

Kariem fell from the roller coaster around 4 p.m., Oct. 12, and hit four juvenile passengers, Cobb County Police said at the time. Officers found the 42-year-old Atlanta man beneath the ride, unresponsive and not breathing, police said.

The passengers suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Authorities and Six Flags did not identify the ride associated with the man's death, but local TV stations showed video of passengers being evacuated from the Goliath roller coaster.

Six Flags visitors described watching Kariem being tossed from the coaster train and falling to his death, causing the theme park operator to temporarily close nine similar roller coasters nationwide.

Logan Conner said he was on Goliath with his fiancée when he saw Kariem come out of his seat.

"The man started levitating in the air sideways," he told NBC. "We made direct eye contact with him."

Kariem served as an educator at Wesley International Academy for Atlanta Public Schools. He taught technology, was an IT manager and coached robotics at the school, the school said in a statement posted to Facebook the day after the fatal accident.

Georgia's Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, which oversees annual ride inspections in the state, is "conducting an in‑depth and comprehensive review" of the incident, Garrison Bennett, a Six Flags spokesperson, told The Associated Press.

Six Flags opened its gates Friday evening for the first time since the deadly incident.

The Associated Press contributed reporting and writing.