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Hassan Kariem was at Six Flags for niece’s birthday when Goliath ride turned deadly
Hassan Kariem died Monday after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, where a relative said he was celebrating his niece’s birthday. Investigators are working to determine what happened as family and colleagues remember him as a beloved educator and father.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Hassan Kariem was visiting Six Flags Over Georgia to celebrate his niece’s birthday when he fell from the Goliath roller coaster Monday afternoon, according to a relative. His niece was seated beside him, the relative said.
The incident happened shortly before 4 p.m. Kariem struck other riders before falling beneath the attraction, police said. Officers found him unresponsive and not breathing. He died at the scene.
Kariem was a husband, father and educator who also worked as an IT manager. He spent more than a decade at Wesley International Academy, part of Atlanta Public Schools.
“He was a good person. All the scholars that he taught loved him,” Atiya Kariem said.
The family has also asked people not to share images of the incident. A cousin, speaking in an Instagram video on behalf of Kariem’s mother and the family, called the circulation of those images “very degrading, distasteful, and extremely insensitive.”
Investigators are working to determine what caused Kariem to fall. Six Flags Over Georgia was scheduled to reopen Friday.