A man who tried to warn a North Carolina amusement park about a huge crack in the ride’s support beam says staff were ‘nonchalant’ and had ‘no urgency’ to fix it

• Jeremy Wagner said employees seemed “nonchalant” about a crack in a roller coaster support beam.

• “I felt there was no urgency with any of the employees,” Wagner told CNN.

• Carowinds said it closed the roller coaster on Friday and “conducted a thorough inspection.”

A man who spotted a large crack in the support beam of a North Carolina roller coaster says amusement park staff seemed nonchalant when he told them about it.

“I felt there was no urgency with any of the employees,” Jeremy Wagner, who brought his kids to Carowinds amusement park on Friday, told CNN on July 4.

“Even after they airdropped the video for me, the guest services manager left and said, ‘I’m going to send it to someone. “And they just turned around and walked away, you know, nonchalant,” Wagner continued.

According to local news station WCNC, Carowinds temporarily closed its flagship roller coaster on Friday. Carowinds told WCNC it closed the ride “after park staff became aware of a crack at the top of a steel support pillar.”

A spokesperson for Carowinds previously told Insider that “the park’s maintenance team is performing a thorough inspection and the ride will remain closed until repairs are complete.”

Wagner told the Washington Post on July 3 that he was relieved the ride was closed and being repaired. He feared the crack would derail the roller coaster.

“He could have gone haywire and steamrolled through the parking lot, crushing pedestrians, cars and anything in his path,” Wagner told the Post.

On June 25, a roller coaster in Stockholm partially derailed, injuring nine people and killing one. The Swedish government has since launched an investigation into the incident, according to The Associated Press.

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions said on its website that “rides in the United States are extremely safe.” The association added that “the chance of being seriously injured on a fixed-site ride at a US amusement park is 1 in 15.5 million rides taken.”

A representative for Carowinds did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside of normal business hours.

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