Investigators determined that missing bolts in a wheel assembly caused the accident. Three riders died and at least 15 were injured, one seriously. It proceeded through the first two loops but derailed as it approached the third loop, stalling at the top and sliding backward into a concrete column. Before it got there, though, the rear car began to fishtail. The train slid around a turn at 60 miles per hour (96.5 kilometers per hour), gaining momentum for the first of the three loops. It was June 14, 1986, just one day after an Alberta province safety inspector declared the ride safe. It was the main attraction of Fantasyland a popular amusement park in West Edmonton Mall's. The ride, a large indoor triple-loop coaster, featured steel construction and a four-car train. The 1986 Mindbender accident is the only disaster on the list that happened indoors, but that doesn't make it any less tragic. The Mindbender triple-loop coaster derailed when it stalled on the third loop, killing three riders and injuring several people. However, jurors ultimately exonerated the ride's manager on charges of homicide after determining that the tragic accident was "unavoidable." Witnesses claimed that the accident was caused by excessive speed as the train entered the turn. Another person was injured when the driver's body struck her as she watched from the ground. Three fell to their deaths while two - a woman and her 4-year-old son - clung to the wrecked car's handrail until police were able to rescue them. Suddenly, the wheels left the track, flipping the car on its side and hurling the driver and four passengers into a flimsy iron railing 30 feet (9.1 meters) above the pavement. A crowd looked on as it shot down an incline and headed into a sharp turn. Excitement built as they slowly passed through an exhibit that recalled scenes from the war. On that fateful summer day in 1915, six people boarded the ride. The roller coaster operated much like a modern subway: Each train had a driver and an electric motor powered by a third rail that propelled its riders up hills and around corners. The Rough Riders, originally known as Drop the Dip, was located in Coney Island, New York. Not so July 27 of that year, however, when an accident killed three riders and injured several people. But in 1915 the Spanish-American War, which featured Theodore Roosevelt's legendary "Rough Riders" cavalry regiment, was still a recent memory, so it probably sounded awesome. Today, a roller coaster named Rough Riders wouldn't sound particularly appealing. Several people fell to their deaths on the Rough Riders roller coaster (also known as Drop the Dip) in 1915. When the dust settled, the locomotive sat derailed at the top of the hill while the remaining cars stayed on the tracks and came to rest 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9.1 meters) away at the bottom of the incline. The front car then struck the locomotive's undercarriage, killing one man who had to be extricated from the wreckage by emergency workers. A wheel assembly fell off the locomotive, jamming one of the axles and causing the back end of the locomotive to kick up and hit the top of the tunnel. The train, which consists of a small locomotive and five cars that can carry 32 people, had just climbed up a hill and into a tunnel when the accident occurred. That premise became all too real in 2003 when part of wagon train derailed, killing one rider and injuring 10 others. In 1979 Disneyland built its Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride around a runaway-mine-train theme complete with caves, mineshafts and a desert landscape. In 2003, one man was killed and 10 others were injured when part of a train derailed on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland. The car slipped 45 feet (13.7 meters) back down the track and slammed into another car, ejecting a 14-year-old boy who was the lone fatality. As one of the ride's cars reached the top of the highest hill it stalled and a safety device meant to keep it from sliding backward failed. A popular attraction was the Wildcat, which had been testing Tulsans' nerves since 1974. That day, visitors packed the park for a special 25-cent-per-ride promotion. That's exactly what happened April 20, 1997, at Bell's Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now imagine how terrifying it would be if the lift chain pulling your car to the summit malfunctioned and sent the car careening backward. It's the calm before a thrilling blur of speed, tight turns and 360-degree loops. If you've ever ridden a roller coaster, you know the nervous excitement that builds as the cars slowly climb to the top of the ride. On April 20, 1997, a 14-year-old boy died after he was ejected from the Wildcat ride at Bell's Amusement Park in Tulsa.
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