Six Flags responds to fatal accident: We don't design or build rides

Emergency personnel are on the scene at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas, after a woman died on the Texas Giant roller coaster, background left, on Friday, July 19, 2013. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Tom Fox) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES less Emergency personnel are on the scene at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas, after a woman died on the Texas Giant roller coaster, background left, on Friday, July 19, 2013. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning ... more Photo: Tom Fox, MBR Photo: Tom Fox, MBR Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Six Flags responds to fatal accident: We don't design or build rides 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Responding to a lawsuit brought by the family of a passenger killed on its roller coaster, Six Flags Over Texas said it didn't build or design the ride and points to independent contractors as being responsible for the passenger restraint system.

On Sept. 10, representatives of the estate of Rosa Esparza filed suit against Six Flags Entertainment Corp. in Tarrant County's 342nd State District Court, seeking at least $1 million in damages.

As a result of Six Flags' negligence, the family's suit claims, Esparza was ejected from the ride July 19 and fell to her death "while her daughter and son-in-law rode along in horror and while her grandchildren waited for her at the end of the ride."

The ride was reopened on Sept. 14, just days after the family filed suit.

In its response, filed Oct. 4, Six Flags denies "each and every" allegation in the Esparza family lawsuit.

The response defers to independent contractor Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, saying that Six Flags relied on Gerstlauer for the safety and design of the restraint system that failed to keep Esparza inside the ride.

Six Flags said its staff was properly trained for the upkeep of this ride and the other rides in the park.

They also pointed to the "approximately 2.5 million people" that had ridden the Texas Giant prior to Esparza as proof it was safe. The company says that they followed "all manufacturer's maintenance and operational instructions, applicable ASTM standards and all the requirements of Texas law."

Six Flags requested a jury trial to respond to the Esparza family's claims.

According to the complaint filed by Rosa Esparza's son, Amado Esparza, and others, inspections after the accident showed that various parts of the giant roller coaster's security system were "experiencing inconsistencies and intermittent failures" on the day Esparza died.

As noted in the complaint, the roller coaster had one safety bar for each seat but no lap belts or shoulder-harness safety belts.

When the ride was in its first steep descent, Esparza's daughter heard screaming behind her and turned to see her mother upside-down, in the process of being thrown out of the car but struggling to hold onto the safety bar "for dear life," the suit stated.

Esparza, 52, was unable to resist the forces of the ride and was thrown against a support piling, falling many feet to the metal roof of a tunnel, the family claims in its suit.

Six Flags has admitted, the suit claims, that, after the accident, it replaced a restraint "limit switch" in a seat in the same car in which Esparza was riding.

The family said in their suit that Six Flags had continually pushed the envelope with their rides, building extreme attractions that are bigger, faster, and also even more dangerous.

Opened in 1990, the Texas Giant is 14 stories high, has a drop of 79 degrees and a bank of 95 degrees. It began life as an all-wooden coaster but steel-hybrid rails were added in 2011, according to a previous Associated Press report.



Houston Chronicle reporter Carol Christian contributed to this report.