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Atlanta school community mourns teacher killed on Six Flags Goliath
Hassan Kariem, a technology teacher and robotics coach at Wesley International Academy, died Oct. 12 after being thrown from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. His celebration of life is scheduled for Monday at the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, as students and staff return from fall break.
ATLANTA — Hassan Kariem, a technology teacher and robotics coach remembered as “Mr. Kariem” at Wesley International Academy, is being mourned by his school community after he died in a fall from a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia.
Kariem died Oct. 12 while riding Goliath. His 13-year-old niece, who was seated beside him, told her father that Kariem had passed out before he fell, according to her father, Joshua Nelson, Kariem’s brother-in-law.
Nelson said his daughter described the ride going up again before Kariem’s restraint appeared to come loose. Authorities have not established in the information available here what caused the fall.
A celebration of life is scheduled for Monday afternoon at the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam. The service comes as students and staff at Wesley International Academy return to class after fall break for the first time since Kariem’s death.
Kariem taught technology at the southeast Atlanta school before becoming its IT manager. He also coached its robotics team, roles that made him a familiar presence to students and colleagues.