A heart-stopping video shows riders on Cedar Point’s “Siren’s Curse” rollercoaster inching down the towering 160-foot-high tracks to safety after it broke down for the fourth time since opening in late June.
The ride at the Ohio amusement park skidded to a halt shortly after ascending the skyhigh tower at the start of the rollercoaster, a small blessing for the passengers who could’ve otherwise been stuck upside down or dangling over the edge.
According to an amusement park spokesperson, the “delay” was caused by the rollercoaster’s safety system halting the ride before engaging its signature tilt feature, which dangles riders over the midway point while the coaster shifts to attach to the track below.
“The safety system worked as expected, but the ride could not be restarted. “Guests were safely escorted off the ride,” the spokesperson stated.
However, for some riders, the walk off the coaster may have been more frightening than the intimidating loop-de-loops.
A video shared on X Saturday showed the group of riders slowly descending the evacuation stairs alongside the 160-foot incline, clinging to the railing for dear life.
Breaking news 🚨 Sirens The Curse coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, malfunctioned again, forcing riders to walk the track. This is the fourth incident since the ride debuted earlier this year. Video credit: Heather Hammond Semak. pic.twitter.com/feVNAyoFkZ.
The abandoned coaster sat on the flat portion of the tower, several yards away.
One pair of passengers in the middle of the line stood motionless, seemingly paralyzed by fear, while the rest of the riders bottlenecked behind them.
“That walk down is definitely 10 times scarier than actually riding the ride,” a user told me.
“I am scared of heights. So if this happened to me, my bones would have melted, leaving only a blob of skin,” another added.
Since its inception, the coaster, which is the tallest, longest, and fastest in the country, has been plagued by sensors. It has unexpectedly stopped the rollercoaster four times.
On its first day open to the public, a power outage brought the coaster to a halt, leaving passengers dangling over one of its signature ledges for ten minutes.
Then, on July 2, it came to a stop on the 160-foot platform for the first time, forcing passengers to descend the evacuation stairs.
On July 19, it broke down for the third time while tilted at a 45-degree angle for about 20 minutes before resuming.
