Six Flags Over Texas Denies Liability in Roller Coaster Death

Amusement park says it did not design or manufacture Texas Giant

In a new court filing, Six Flags Over Texas argues it is not responsible for the death of a Dallas woman who fell off the Texas Giant in July.

In an answer to a lawsuit filed by the family of Rosy Esparza, the amusement park said it did not design or manufacture the roller coaster and that 2.5 million people had ridden the ride before without any problem.

Esparza, 52, died from "multiple traumatic injuries" when she fell 75 feet from the ride, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office said. Esparza's name was reported as Rosa Ayala-Goana in initial news reports.

Six Flags “relied upon the expertise of the independent contractors it hired with regard to the design and manufacture of the ride and trains including the passenger restraint system,” wrote Bryan Pope, a Dallas attorney representing Six Flags Over Texas, Inc.
“Six Flags believes it met all of the manufacturer’s maintenance and operational instructions,” he said.
The family’s lawsuit, filed in September, faults the safety system on the bars that are supposed to lock over riders’ laps, claiming the amusement park should never have operated the ride without the proper protections.

Six Flags re-opened the Texas Giant the same day the lawsuit was filed.

It was Esparza's first visit to Six Flags, her family said.

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