SANDUSKY, Ohio — The family of the woman who was seriously injured by a metal object that fell off the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster at Cedar Point on Aug. 15 is "fighting for her life."
That Sunday afternoon, a 44-year-old woman from Michigan was waiting in line to ride the Top Thrill Dragster when a metal object became dislodged from a train at the top of the 420-foot-tall ride. The park said the falling object then struck the woman as she stood in line. She was struck in the head, according to an accident report from the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Preliminary information indicates the incident happened near what would be the train’s max velocity at the bottom of the ride, but it is unclear how far away the woman was from the ride when she was struck.
After the incident, the woman was transported to Firelands Regional Medical Center and later transferred to St. Vincent's Hospital in Toledo.
The woman's family provided a statement to ABC 12 regarding her condition, saying she was currently fighting for her life as a result of her injuries.
“We are devastated by last weekend’s accident at Cedar Point,” the woman's family said in the statement. “We want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this time. [She] is fighting for her life, and we would ask for privacy in this difficult time.”
ODA has been collecting inspection records, witness statements and other pertinent documents and are using them in the investigation into the incident.
The Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point has been shut down since. Aug. 15 as a result of the incident.
RELATED: Inspectors say L-shaped bracket from Top Thrill Dragster dislodged near end of ride, struck woman
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
