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Terrifying Video Shows Roller Coaster Cracking in the Middle of a Ride A visitor to Carowinds amusement park noticed a massive crack in the pillar of the "tallest" coaster, Fury 325.

By Dan Bova

Lexington Herald-Leader | Getty Images
Riders make a turn on Fury 325 at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 8, 2022. The ride has been closed since a crack formed in one of the support pillars.

A rollercoaster billing itself as the longest and tallest in North America was shut down after an amusement park patron noticed a massive crack in one of the ride's pillars.

Jeremy Wagner took his kids to Carowinds in North Carolina, and while taking a look at the park's main attraction from the parking lot — the "Fury 325," a 325-foot-tall coaster — he saw something that stopped him in his tracks: the track separated from the pillar as the coaster raced by.

Related: The Startup Rollercoaster: An Entrepreneurial Story

"I was trying to shoot the video, and my hands were shaking because I knew how quick this could be catastrophic," Wagner told the New York Times.

Officials said the ride was closed "after park personnel became aware of a crack at the top of a steel support pillar" and will remain closed until repairs are made and the North Carolina Department of Labor completes an investigation of the near tragedy.

Wagner told the Times that he had just bought his kids season passes to the park, and that his 14-year-old daughter had ridden the Fury 325 eight times that day. After filming the crack, he gave the footage to park officials who promptly shut the ride down. "I'm thankful they did that," Wagner said. "Even though that's their No. 1 attraction at the park."

Related: How Disney's New Guardians of the Galaxy Roller Coaster Makes You Feel Like You Are Floating In Space

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

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