originally posted on 2/21/2022 12:44:00 PM
Top Thrill Dragster, the roller coaster involved in a horrific accident last summer at Cedar Point, will remain closed in 2022.
The Sandusky, Ohio park made the announcement February 18, the same day the Ohio Department of Agriculture released a lengthy report on the accident and determined that Cedar Point did not violate any laws or rules in its operation or maintenance of the ride.
Top Thrill Dragster debuted in 2003 and had been one of the park’s most popular rides, featuring a single, 420-foot-high hill and a top speed of 120 mph. It was shut down immediately after the August accident
Cedar Point acknowledged that it did not perform the standard overhaul procedures for the ride in 2021 – which it typically performs annually -- because the ride saw limited use in 2020 owing to pandemic-related park closures.
Instead, in consultation with the ride manufacturer, Intamin, the park completed what it called “a limited overhaul” of the ride last year, with a “minimum of 17% of all critical components” inspected, according to the report.
The Department of Agriculture provided a list of repairs that must be completed before the ride can be certified to operate again. The list includes replacing bolts “found to be of different or improper grade” in the ride’s braking framework; repairing the section of track that was damaged during the accident; and replacing the missing bracket on the car that lost it. The report noted another car had a loose left bracket, and all trains had brackets that “show sign of wear.”
A spokesperson for Cedar Point declined to say whether the park had determined what caused the accident. It’s unclear whether Cedar Point will attempt to operate the ride again.
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