Vampire Roller Coaster Gets Stuck Stranding Riders

Louisville, KY -- On Wednesday, April 7 the train on the Vampire roller coaster at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom got stuck leaving the 27 riders stranded. Local firefighters were called in to rescue the passengers using a ladder and a lift.

According to witnesses the train failed to slow down as it returned to the station after its backward run. Instead it passed through the station reversing direction on the lift hill, and then continued through the station once more as it headed back for the first inversion.

The train passed through the first inversion and came to a stop on the "boomerang" element more than 40 feet above the ground. Witnesses in line reported that the train did not have the speed to make the second inversion and instead rocked back and forth between the two before coming to a stop.

It took firefighters several hours to rescue everyone. Despite a few being shaken up, fortunately no one was injured.

A park official commented that the Vampire was inspected in the morning before it began operating and no problems were found. The Vampire is a standard Vekoma boomerang coaster and opened at the park in 1990. Since then there have been no major accidents on this coaster.