Investigators Visit North Carolina Amusement Park After Closing Roller Coaster Because of Crack

Investigators Visit North Carolina Amusement Park After Closing Roller Coaster Because of Crack
The crack on a support beam on Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, N.C., on June 30, 2023, in a still from video. (Courtesy of Jeremy Wagner via AP)

RALEIGH, N.C.—State investigators were on site Monday at a North Carolina amusement park after a crack was discovered on a support beam on one of their popular roller coasters.

Tommy Petty, chief of the state Department of Labor’s Amusement Device Bureau, said investigators from his department “already came and went” from the Carowinds roller coaster Monday morning. He declined to share details about their findings.

Carowinds’ Fury 325 was shut down Friday. Video of the ride showed the beam bending, the top of it visibly detached, as cars with passengers whirled by.

The park’s website advertises the ride as the “tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America” that crosses into both North Carolina and South Carolina. It has been open to the public since 2015.

The rest of the park remains open.

entrance to Fury 325
The entrance to the Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, N.C., in June 2015. (Google Maps/Screenshot via NTD)