'Beloved' Teacher Remembered After Fatal Fall At Six Flags Over GA: Reports

AUSTELL, GA — Family members and students say the man killed after a fall from a Six Flags Over Georgia roller coaster was a "beloved" Atlanta teacher, according to media reports.

Before the fatal fall Monday afternoon, 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem served as an educator at Wesley International Academy for Atlanta Public Schools, WXIA-TV reported.

Kariem taught technology, was an IT manager and coached robotics at the school, the school said in a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday.

“The Wesley International Academy community is devastated by the loss of Hassan Kariem, affectionately known as Mr. Kariem, who was a beloved colleague, friend, and integral part of the Wesley family for more than 12 years," the school said in the statement.

" ... Mr. Kariem was deeply loved and respected, and his absence will be felt throughout our school community. Our hearts are with his family, friends, colleagues, students and all who knew and loved him as we mourn this tremendous loss."

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Kariem was found unresponsive and not breathing after being ejected from a Six Flags ride around 4 p.m. Monday at the Austell amusement park, Cobb County Police said Tuesday. When officers arrived, he was located underneath the ride, police said.

Though police did not identify the roller coaster, media reports say it was the Goliath.

CCPD's Major Crimes Unit was activated, and investigators interviewed witnesses and employees.

By their account, police said Kariem hit other riders when he was ejected from the roller coaster and fell beneath the ride.

Several other people were hurt but officials have not released any information about their injuries or conditions.

It was not immediately known what led to the deadly ejection.

Kariem regularly enjoyed visiting Six Flags since childhood, Geo Ashe, his cousin, told WAGA-TV.

"We all grew up going to Six Flags every summer," Ashe said in the report. "We would go to grandma's, and grandma would, once or twice out of the summer, we're going to Six Flags."

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A family man, Kariem cared for a young girl he raised as his own daughter and cooked for family gatherings, WAGA-TV reported.

Kariem was a two-time cancer survivor, and also recently survived a fiery car crash with his 10-year-old daughter, WXIA-TV reported. The pair was reportedly not injured in the crash.

"It's unfortunate for a man like this who deserves the world," Marcus Ashe, his cousin, told WAGA-TV of the fatal fall.

Six Flags temporarily closed nine similar coasters across North America following Kariem's death, saying it was doing so out of an abundance of caution.

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.