Police have identified the man killed in the horrifying roller coaster incident at Six Flags Over Georgia.
His name was Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old Atlanta father and educator.
Yes, “Jihad” is the middle name printed in Cobb County’s official release.
The identity was confirmed Tuesday as investigators began piecing together how a family trip to the amusement park ended in an unthinkable tragedy.
The first public reports naming the victim carried the full name released by police:
Cobb County Police said officers working at the park responded at approximately 3:58 p.m. Monday and found Kariem beneath the ride, unresponsive and not breathing. Preliminary information gathered through witness and employee interviews indicates that he was ejected, struck other patrons, and then fell beneath the attraction.
The department’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating. Police stressed that the inquiry remains active, and officials have not yet announced what caused Kariem to come out of his seat.
Kariem was a longtime member of the Wesley International Academy community. Atlanta Public Schools described him as a cherished member of both the school and district families whose impact would be deeply missed.
His family remembered him as a passionate educator who loved Atlanta and cared deeply about bringing families together:
The family of Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, who died Monday in a roller coaster incident at Six Flags Over Georgia, shared a photo of him. His family says he was a passionate educator in metro Atlanta who was equally passionate about the city he called home.pic.twitter.com/iU4EuNXbJL
— Cody Alcorn (@CodyAlcorn) October 13, 2026
WSB-TV spoke with a family friend who described Kariem as a fighter whose life had already included several extraordinary escapes. She said he had survived cancer and a difficult battle with COVID-19 before Monday’s fatal trip to Six Flags.
Just weeks before his death, the friend said, Kariem and his daughter escaped a car fire together. The station reported that Kariem was an Atlanta Public Schools educator and a father whose family had watched him overcome one life-threatening ordeal after another.
Those details came from the family friend’s account and were not presented as findings from the ride investigation.
The report was published only hours after police released Kariem’s name and supplied the first fuller account of the man behind it. It also placed the recent car fire in a family context: his daughter was in the vehicle and escaped with him.
That extraordinary history was the basis for the additional report circulating Tuesday:
WSB-TV reported that four other people were injured in the Goliath incident. The Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire has launched its own review, while Six Flags temporarily closed nine similar roller coasters at six other parks out of what the company called an abundance of caution.
Goliath is a massive steel hypercoaster that rises 200 feet and can reach roughly 70 miles per hour. Its trains use lap-bar restraints over riders’ legs and waists.
Six Flags said it was deeply saddened, offered condolences to Kariem’s loved ones, and said the company is cooperating fully with investigators.
The central question remains unanswered: How did a rider come out of his seat on one of the park’s biggest attractions?
Until police and state safety officials complete their work, any claim about a mechanical failure, operator error, or another cause would be speculation. What is confirmed is terrible enough: a 42-year-old father and educator lost his life, other riders were hurt, and families watched a day at the park turn into a nightmare.
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
