Roller Coaster Worker Dies at Magic Mountain : Tragic Day At the Park

By HENRY CHU and NICHOLAS RICCARDI

May 31, 1996 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

VALENCIA —

An employee of the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park died of massive injuries Thursday shortly after being struck by cars of the Revolution roller-coaster.

HOW IT HAPPENED

1) At about 3 p.m., Cherie La Motte, 25, steps onto tracks for reasons unknown.

2) The roller coaster cars pull up to the loading area travelling at an estimated 4 mph.

3) The cars hit La Motte, throwing her into a cramped pit below the loading area.

RIDE FACTS

* Length: 3,500 feet

* Highlights: Large vertical loop and a long, dark tunnel

* Duration of ride: 2 1/2 minutes

* Top speed: 55 mph

Source: Times staff

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Henry Chu

Henry Chu first joined the Los Angeles Times in 1990 and worked primarily out of the San Fernando Valley office before moving to the foreign staff in 1998. He served as bureau chief in Beijing from 1998 to 2003, Rio de Janeiro from 2004 to 2005, New Delhi from 2006 to 2008 and London from 2009 to 2014. He was a 2014-15 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. From 2016-19 he was international editor at Variety magazine. A graduate of Harvard University, Chu returned to The Times in March 2020 as deputy news editor based in London. He left in 2024.

Roller Coaster Worker Dies at Magic Mountain : Tragic Day At the Park

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