Stray Jacket Stops Knott’s Coaster in Its Tracks

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 an article of clothing had stopped a ride in the history of the Buena Park amusement park.

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

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

If the jacket hadn’t stopped the ride, a sensor farther up the track would have, he said.

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

There has never 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 the riders to safety.

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