SANDUSKY, Ohio -- A Cedar Point guest died after he was struck by the Raptor roller coaster around 5 p.m. Thursday.
The ride was immediately shut down. It was inspected overnight and reopened mid-morning Friday.
Police said the man, identified as James A. Young II, 45, of East Canton, Ohio, jumped the fence to enter a restricted area near the roller coaster to look for his lost cell phone. His friends told police Young dropped the phone while on the ride earlier. Young was a teacher at the Louisville school district.
No one else was injured. Cedar Point police and the Sandusky Police Department continue to investigate.
Megan Moore was suspended in the air for ten minutes on the ride, while she and other riders wondered what was going on. "I was in shock because I didn't know what to do. It was terrifying."
Moore witnessed crews trying their best to save the man by performing what appeared to Moore to be CPR. "We saw a bunch of cops... paramedics running toward... the situation." Moore says emergency crews proceeded to barricade a section near the ride.
On the ground, another Cedar Park patron, Kasey Millar, witnessed the pandemonium as the chaos unfolded. "There was people running and screaming... really crazy."
The amusement park released the following statement Thursday evening:
At approximately 5 p.m., a guest entered a restricted, fenced area of the Raptor roller coaster and was struck by the ride. Park safety officials responded immediately to the situation. Unfortunately the guest has passed away. Local authorities are on the scene conducting an investigation.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family at this time.
The Raptor was closed for the evening, but the park remained open.
In June, a man was injured when a gate on the Raptor loading platform reportedly closed on his leg when he was attempting to board the Raptor.
The Raptor is an inverted roller coaster and reaches a maximum speed of 57 mph, according to Cedar Point's website.
