Marlboro Twp. Mom Says Shoulder Strap Came Off On Kingda Ka

MARLBORO TOWNSHIP, NJ — A Marlboro Twp. mother of two said she doesn't plan on suing Six Flags Great Adventure after her shoulder harness broke this August while riding Kingda Ka — but she did turn the incident into her family's Christmas card.

The mishap occurred on Aug. 28 of this year, while Sandy Morelli, 43, was visiting the popular Jackson Twp. amusement park with her mother and her two young daughters, ages 8 and 6. Morelli, a self-described "thrill seeker," boarded Kingda Ka, one of her favorite rides in the park. Kingda Ka is one of the biggest and fastest roller coasters in the world.

"Every time I ride a roller coast I check my harness, as I'm sure most people do," Morelli told Patch. "So I kinda shrugged my shoulders that day and that's when the left harness popped off. It just came out from where it was connected behind my shoulder."

Morelli said her heart and stomach dropped.

"I had seconds before the ride started. I tried putting it back in, but it wouldn't go in. So I just hung on for dear life. I was hoping the force of the launch would keep me in," she said. "I actually thought, 'Well, if this is the end, it's the end.' I screamed out, 'I love my children!,' which sounds so corny."

Morelli said even though she appears to be laughing in that photo, she was actually screaming in terror. You can see the red shoulder harness above her left shoulder is ajar.

She survived the 30-second ride. However, how Six Flags Great Adventure staff handled the incident afterwards is what further enraged her.

"I was pretty wobbly after the ride, but I showed the teenage boy working the ride the shoulder harness. The two girls next to me saw it too, and they kept saying, 'Oh my God!' The young man goes, 'Oh, snap!' He called over a manager, in a black shirt," she said. "I guess the manager knew there was a problem because he wouldn't even make eye contact with me. He just stood there and said nothing. They took that particular coaster out of service, and made an announcement that it was due to technical reasons. But they kept operating the ride."

Morelli said the customer service booth was closed, so she told the staff at the photo booth — which takes photos of riders mid-scream — what had happened. Everyone working there that day "basically dismissed me and didn't believe. Nobody took me seriously. They acted like they wanted me to go away," she said.

The next day, she called Six Flags Great Adventure's customer service. They offered her six "exit" passes, which are passes to cut the line.

Not good enough, Morelli said. She wanted a real apology from the park and she wanted to be taken seriously. She called back the next day, and said she still felt like she was getting brushed off.

"I said something to the young woman on the phone like, 'Do I have to get a lawyer to be taken seriously around here?' And the woman said 'Since you mentioned legal action, I have to disconnect this call.' And she hung up," Morelli said.

A few days later, on Aug. 31, a friend told her the only way to get results was to post what had happened on social media. Her friend posted the photo above for her and, about an hour later, Morelli said she received a call on her cell phone from the manager of customer service at Six Flags.

"He was really, really nice and genuine. He apologized and he offered me four season passes at 40 percent off," she said. Season passes range from $60 -$80. "I felt like someone had listened to me. Look, I am a thrill seeker. I snow board, I love roller coasters. I wasn't physically damaged, but I was mentally damaged. And what if that had happened to an elderly person or a young kid?"

Six Flags spokeswoman Kristin Fitzgerald told Patch that Kingda Ka's shoulder straps are just there for "rider comfort," and don't actually hold riders in.

“Every ride in the park is equipped with a custom-designed restraint system,” Fitzgerald said. “The shoulder straps on Kingda Ka are for comfort only, and are not part of the safety system. The lap bar holds guests securely in place, and it functioned properly. The strap in question was replaced and our records indicate that our Guest Relations management spoke to the guest at length on August 31, explaining that the safety system functioned properly during her ride and that she was safe at all times.”

Morelli is deeply skeptical.

"If they are only for show, why even bother installing them at all? And why do they hurt? They dig in hard to your shoulders," she said. "I am not going to sue them. I am just not the suing type. But the way the park handled this was just awful. I've never been more scared in my entire life."

Park spokeswoman Fitzgerald continued: "To help you understand the straps: If you’re familiar with Kingda Ka’s predecessor, Top Thrill Dragster at another theme park, the ride is virtually identical and it does not have the straps. There are photos online and plenty of information you can check out if you’d like to see how their trains are designed. The straps ensure that someone remains in the ideal, upright position, but they are not part of the restraining device that ensures the guest remains firmly in the seat. Because nothing is more important to us than the safety of our guests, all rides have redundant safety systems. Kingda Ka will not dispatch the station if the lap bar is not in the fully locked position. It has delivered more than 10 million safe rides since 2005."

Fitzgerald also explained what happened with customer service: "There was a clerical error after our guest relations representative spoke to Ms. Morelli on August 28 (her initial call). Our team saw the Tweet and Sean McLaughlin, the Guest Experience Supervisor, called her on Aug. 31 and spoke with her at length, explaining that the safety system functioned properly during her ride and that she was safe at all times. He extended an apology as well, for her experience at the ride and the two-day delay in returning her call."

Morelli said she will keep returning to Great Adventure. "The park is dirty, the staff is rude. But I love roller coasters," she said. She also turned the incident into her 2018 family Christmas card, seen below.

All photos used with permission from Sandy Morelli.