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Updated at 11:30 a.m. with the cause of the stoppage and comment from someone who rode the coaster before it got stuck.
Eight teenage passengers stuck overnight on a new roller coaster at Six Flags over Texas were rescued early Saturday after more than three hours.
Stiff winds triggered a safety stoppage on The Joker, the park's newest thrill ride, Six Flags tweeted late Saturday morning.
The 120-foot-tall roller coaster was scheduled to open Saturday and will do so after a full inspection.
Firefighters from the Arlington Fire Department were dispatched to the amusement park about 12:30 a.m. after one of the cars lost momentum and came to a stop.
They called a technical rescue team for help, and crews managed to remove the eight people from the new Joker ride by 3:40 a.m.
"At the time the roller coaster was stuck, there was a severe thunderstorm moving through the Arlington area," Deputy Fire Chief Mike French said. "But it didn't stop us."
No one was injured, French said, but the teens did complain about being cold as the wet, windy weather moved through.
A Six Flags spokeswoman said the group was given water and items to stay warm during the rescue.
"The safety of our guests is our highest priority," Sharon Parker said in a statement early Saturday. "Our team will determine what triggered one of the safety features of the ride to stop the car during the cycle as soon as the guests have safely been removed from the ride."
Melissa Carmona, 34, hopped on the ride three times with her 11-year-old daughter several hours before it got stuck. They didn't have any major issues, though Carmona said her daughter noticed it took them longer to get off on the last go-round.
"It made a rumble sound and then moved about two minutes later," she said. "I told her it was probably the coasters above us making their way down."
Carmona said she didn't think anything else of it until she woke up to the news about the coaster getting stuck.
The park lauds The Joker as a freestyle-coaster that lifts riders straight up 12 stories, which "will wreak havoc as riders flip head-over-heels at least six times along the weightless journey," according to a news release.
The winged-seat design suspends riders from the sides of the track.
"This only amps up the pandemonium and chaos since there is no track above or below ??? just the sky, ground and plenty of sinister thrills."
The park was open from 11 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday for Senior Nite, which welcomes high-schoolers from across the state to play overnight.
This is at least the second time this week that a Joker ride has broken down at a Six Flags park. Authorities in Maryland had to rescue 24 people trapped on the coaster for several hours Thursday at Six Flags America, CBS News reports.
Eight teenage passengers stuck overnight on a new roller coaster at Six Flags over Texas were rescued early Saturday after more than three hours.
Stiff winds triggered a safety stoppage on The Joker, the park's newest thrill ride, Six Flags tweeted late Saturday morning.
The 120-foot-tall roller coaster was scheduled to open Saturday and will do so after a full inspection.
Firefighters from the Arlington Fire Department were dispatched to the amusement park about 12:30 a.m. after one of the cars lost momentum and came to a stop.
They called a technical rescue team for help, and crews managed to remove the eight people from the new Joker ride by 3:40 a.m.
"At the time the roller coaster was stuck, there was a severe thunderstorm moving through the Arlington area," Deputy Fire Chief Mike French said. "But it didn't stop us."
No one was injured, French said, but the teens did complain about being cold as the wet, windy weather moved through.
A Six Flags spokeswoman said the group was given water and items to stay warm during the rescue.
"The safety of our guests is our highest priority," Sharon Parker said in a statement early Saturday. "Our team will determine what triggered one of the safety features of the ride to stop the car during the cycle as soon as the guests have safely been removed from the ride."
Melissa Carmona, 34, hopped on the ride three times with her 11-year-old daughter several hours before it got stuck. They didn't have any major issues, though Carmona said her daughter noticed it took them longer to get off on the last go-round.
"It made a rumble sound and then moved about two minutes later," she said. "I told her it was probably the coasters above us making their way down."
Carmona said she didn't think anything else of it until she woke up to the news about the coaster getting stuck.
The park lauds The Joker as a freestyle-coaster that lifts riders straight up 12 stories, which "will wreak havoc as riders flip head-over-heels at least six times along the weightless journey," according to a news release.
The winged-seat design suspends riders from the sides of the track.
"This only amps up the pandemonium and chaos since there is no track above or below ??? just the sky, ground and plenty of sinister thrills."
The park was open from 11 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday for Senior Nite, which welcomes high-schoolers from across the state to play overnight.
This is at least the second time this week that a Joker ride has broken down at a Six Flags park. Authorities in Maryland had to rescue 24 people trapped on the coaster for several hours Thursday at Six Flags America, CBS News reports.
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