'There was feathers and blood everywhere': Boy's shock after being hit in the FACE by bird on world's tallest rollercoaster

A 12-year-old New Jersey boy suffered a freak accident when a pigeon hit him in the face as he was riding the world's tallest rollercoaster.



Shane Matus, of Howell Township, was riding in the front car of the 128 mph Kingda Ka rollercoaster at Six Flags in Jackson Township when the unfortunate bird slammed into his face.



'When it hit me I was like, ‘What the-? Did somebody throw a ball or something?’ When I started spitting out feathers, I was like, that was a bird,' said Shane.

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Shane Matus suffered bruising and scratches to his face after being hit by a pigeon while riding the world's tallest rollercoaster at the Six Flags theme park in New Jersey

Colliding with the bird as they approached the station, Shane suffered extensive bruising and scratches to his face.



'They say the bird exploded,' said Shane.

'It hurt a lot for like three seconds. People behind us had feathers and blood all over them.'



Luckily for Shane he was distracted by a car alarm in a neighbouring parking lot seconds before the bird hit him.



'If that car alarm didn’t go off, it would’ve hit me dead in the eye,' said Shane.

The Kingda Ka rollercoaster rises to a height of 456 feet and hurtles at speeds of up to 128 mph

Shane's injuries were clear to see after the bird collision which occurred on Thursday at 5 p.m.

The 456-foot-tall Kingda Ka rollercoaster was shut for 30 minutes in the aftermath of the accident as officials examined the cause of the accident.



Shane was taken to hospital along with his aunt, while his father, Adam Matus, made his way to see his son.

Shane has not been deterred from riding on a rollercoaster again. However, he will no longer sit at the front

'I couldn’t believe it,' said Adam. 'I mean what kind of freak accident is this?'



A spokesperson for Six Flags called the accident a freak of nature and said nothing like this had ever happened before.



NBC10 asked Shane if he would ever go on the roller coaster again. 'Yeah,' Shane replied. 'But not in the front.'

In 1999 Fabio was hit in the face by a goose while riding a roller coaster at Busch Gardens

In 1999 Italian male-model Fabio was famously photographed after a goose hit his face while riding the Apollo's Chariot at Bush Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.

