Riders Stranded for 3 Hours on Roller Coaster

Two dozen people were stranded on a Knott’s Berry Farm roller coaster for about three hours Saturday night when a rider’s jacket flew onto the track and wedged under the train, bringing it to a halt 40 feet above the ground.

No one was injured when the roller coaster stopped just after 9 p.m.

Knott’s Berry Farm officials said it was the first time in the Buena Park amusement park’s history that an article of clothing had stopped a ride.

“There was no evidence to suggest that it was anything but an accident,” spokesman Bob Ochsner said. “It would be very hard to do this on purpose.”

All of the park’s roller coasters have sensors at points along the tracks to detect obstructions, Ochsner said.

If the jacket had not stopped the ride, a sensor farther up the track would have, he said.

The Jaguar! ride, the park’s slowest roller coaster, was traveling about 20 mph before it was stopped, Knott’s officials said. About half the riders were children younger than 12.

There has not been an accident or an injury on the ride since it opened in 1995, Ochsner said.

An Orange County Fire Authority lift was used to bring down the riders.

The ride was checked for mechanical failures and resumed operating when the park opened Sunday morning, Ochsner said.