Parkgoer injured on Tornado slide at Six Flags Great Adventure Hurricane Harbor water park
Ken SerranoJACKSON — An adult parkgoer at Great Adventure Hurricane Harbor water park was hospitalized Monday after completing a ride on the Tornado funnel slide.
Kristin B. Fitzgerald, spokesperson for Six Flags Great Adventure, said the visitor complained of back and neck pain before being taken to a local hospital.
The extent of the visitor's condition was not immediately known. Fitzgerald declined to provide further information on the guest, citing the federal law restricting the release of medical information.
The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m., she said.
The 75-foot-high slide drops parkgoers down a 132-foot tunnel at about 35 feet per second and into a 60-foot-wide funnel, according to the Great Adventure website.
Riders travel down the slide on a four-person raft.
"You’ll swirl through the funnel like you’re being blown around with furious force," the web site reads, adding that riders will "feel the full thundering power of the Tornado."
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The incident Monday follows a series of other injuries and malfunctions at Six Flags Great Adventure this summer. A visitor at the park was taken to the hospital August 29 after falling off the roof of a building in a restricted area of the park. A boy was hospitalized after cutting his head July 14 on The Joker rollercoaster.
The state Department of Community Affairs shut down the rollercoaster El Toro following a derailment June 29. No one was injured.
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And two visitors were taken to a local hospital following a malfunction June 13 of the log flume ride in the main part of the amusement park.
Ken Serrano has covered crime, breaking news, investigations and local issues in New Jersey for more than 20 years. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or kserrano@gannettnj.com.