CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The company that manufactured the Fury 325 roller coaster is at Carowinds Tuesday to inspect the ride after a large crack was found in one of the track's support beams last week.
A spokesperson from Bolliger & Mabillard, the firm that designed and manufactured Fury 325, confirmed to WCNC Charlotte that a representative was at the park Tuesday. Bolliger & Mabillard has built custom coasters for theme parks around the world since its founding in 1988. The company is credited for developing the inverted roller coaster.
"We will continue to work closely with Carowinds to determine the cause, the repair and the reopening of the coaster," the statement reads. "Please rest assured that safety is our top priority."
Jeremy Wagner shot a video of the ride with what appears to be a large crack. As riders zoomed along the tracks, you can see the beam move in the video. Wagner was in the parking lot waiting for his family to exit the park when he shot the now-viral video.
"I mean, their jaws dropped," Wagner said. "My daughter and niece were like, 'We just rode that, that was the last thing we rode.' I was like, that's not supposed to do that. It's not attached."
Wagner immediately contacted park security and told them they needed to shut down the ride. Fury 325 has been closed since then.
Multiple inspectors from the North Carolina Department of Labor were at Carowinds Monday to get a glimpse of the ride as they try to figure out what caused the crack to form. A Carowinds spokesperson told WCNC Charlotte the park does both daily and yearly inspections with officials from North Carolina and South Carolina because the park is in both states.
In 2017, Carowinds gave WCNC Charlotte a look at the maintenance of Fury and other coasters. An inspector said they carefully look over the nuts and bolts of their rides and toss out parts with too much wear and tear.
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