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Missouri theme park visitors say they had to hold down young girls after alleged seat belt malfunction on roller coaster

Missouri theme park visitors say they had to hold down young girls after alleged seat belt malfunction on roller coaster
FOR SNAP DURING THE SHUTDOWN. WELL, THIS PHOTO SHOWS A TERRIFYING MOMENT. PASSENGERS ON THE MAMBA RIDE AT WORLDS OF FUN HAD TO HOLD SOMEBODY DOWN AFTER THEY SAY A SEATBELT RESTRAINT FAILED. THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL FOUND TODAY. SOME OF THE RESTRAINTS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. KMBC9 KRISTA TATSCHL IS INVESTIGATING HOW THIS ALL HAPPENED, AND WE’RE JUST LEARNING OF THESE INCIDENTS NOW, TWO WEEKS AFTER THEY HAPPENED TO PASSENGERS RIDING THE TALLEST ROLLER COASTER AT WORLDS OF FUN. SO WE GET ON. WE’RE SO EXCITED BECAUSE THIS IS OUR FAVORITE ROLLER COASTER. IT’S A YOUNG GIRL BEHIND ME, AND THE ROLLER COASTER, AND I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S HER FIRST ROLLER COASTER OR 100TH ROLLER COASTER, YOU KNOW? BUT THEN SHE SAID, MY SEATBELT CAME OFF. IT WAS COMPLETELY UNDONE. AND THERE WAS THIS BIG OF A GAP BETWEEN HER AND THE LAP BAR. 72 MILES AN HOUR HOLDING ON TO SOMEBODY. IT’S TERRIFYING. THE FIRST DROP HALFWAY THROUGH THE HILL. I’M SORRY. THIS IS REALLY EMOTIONAL BECAUSE THIS LITTLE GIRL, THE THE SCREAM THAT SHE SCREAMED, I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. DROPPING 205FT A SEATBELT RESTRAINT DIDN’T LATCH AND LOCK. TWO GIRLS CLUNG TO EACH OTHER AS CASSIE AND CHRIS EVANS HELD THEM DOWN. I LOOKED AT HER, JUST DEAD IN THE EYE AND CONNECTED WITH HER FOR A SECOND. SHE WAS LISTENING. I SAID, LOOK, YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE REST OF THIS RIDE. WE’RE NOT GOING TO LET YOU GO. TURNED AROUND AND GRABBED HER. HER FRIEND HAS A HOLD OF HER. THEY’RE BOTH CRYING. THAT WAS ON OCTOBER 11TH. ONE DAY LATER, ANOTHER SEATBELT MALFUNCTION ON THE MAMBA. A MOTHER SHOUTED HER SON’S SEATBELT HADN’T LOCKED AS THE CARS ENTERED THEIR FIRST CLIMB. THIS TIME THE RIDE STOPPED AND THE TWISTED LOOSE SEATBELT WAS ADJUSTED. INSPECTORS FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF FIRE SAFETY WERE ON SITE EVALUATING THE MAMBA THURSDAY MORNING. WE PROBABLY WON’T GO BACK FOR A WHILE. WE NEED TO SEE THE CHANGE AND ONCE WE SEE THAT CHANGE, I WILL BE COMFORTABLE TAKING MY FOUR CHILDREN WHO I AM NOT COMFORTABLE TAKING. CURRENTLY, KRISTA TATSCHL KMBC NINE NEWS, THE PARENT COMPANY OF WORLDS OF FUN, SIX FLAGS ENTERTAINMENT, SAYS THE RIDE HAS UNDERGONE A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY REVIEW DIRECTED BY THE FIRE MARSHAL AND WILL BE OPEN TONIGHT. WORLDS
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Updated: 10:03 AM CDT Oct 31, 2025
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Missouri theme park visitors say they had to hold down young girls after alleged seat belt malfunction on roller coaster
KMBC logo
Updated: 10:03 AM CDT Oct 31, 2025
Editorial Standards
Roller coaster rides reportedly turned from thrills to scares for a few recent guests at Kansas City's Worlds of Fun theme park. A couple said they were riding the Mamba, the tallest coaster at the park, on Oct. 11 when a young girl behind them announced that her seat belt was not latched. “It was completely undone,” said Chris Evins, who helped hold her down. “And there was this big of a gap between her and the lap bar.” Evins and his wife held onto the girl and her friend next to her as the 205-foot-tall coaster went on. “I said, ‘Look, you’re going to make it through the rest of this ride. We’re not going to let you go,’” Evins said. Cassie Evins said both girls were crying as they held on. “72 miles an hour, holding onto somebody. It’s terrifying,” Cassie Evins said. One day after that incident, a guest reported another alleged seat belt malfunction on the Mamba. A mother said she shouted that her son’s seat belt hadn’t locked as the cars entered their first climb. This time, the ride reportedly stopped, and the seat belt, which the mother said was twisted and loose, was adjusted. “We probably won’t go back for a while,” Cassie Evins said. “We need to see the change, and once we see that change, I will be comfortable taking my four children, who I am not comfortable taking currently.”Inspectors from the Missouri Division of Fire Safety reportedly went to evaluate the coaster Thursday morning. They told one of the affected guests that a ride inspector discovered some restraint devices that were "not functioning properly" on the Mamba, and the ride was taken out of service until repairs were made, which were expected to be done Thursday or Friday. Sister station KMBC reached out to Six Flags, the parent company of Worlds of Fun, for a statement on the situation. “The safety of our guests and team members is a top priority,” a park spokesperson said. “Following the report of a guest concern on the ride earlier this month, our team immediately closed the ride and completed a thorough inspection before reopening it that evening. The ride is equipped with a multi-layered restraint system, and it has operated safely since the initial concern was raised. “The ride has undergone a comprehensive safety review, and we have implemented modifications requested by the Fire Marshal to ensure it meets or exceeds all applicable safety standards before it reopens to guests this evening.”

Roller coaster rides reportedly turned from thrills to scares for a few recent guests at Kansas City's Worlds of Fun theme park.

A couple said they were riding the Mamba, the tallest coaster at the park, on Oct. 11 when a young girl behind them announced that her seat belt was not latched.

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“It was completely undone,” said Chris Evins, who helped hold her down. “And there was this big of a gap between her and the lap bar.”

Evins and his wife held onto the girl and her friend next to her as the 205-foot-tall coaster went on.

“I said, ‘Look, you’re going to make it through the rest of this ride. We’re not going to let you go,’” Evins said.

Cassie Evins said both girls were crying as they held on.

“72 miles an hour, holding onto somebody. It’s terrifying,” Cassie Evins said.

One day after that incident, a guest reported another alleged seat belt malfunction on the Mamba.

A mother said she shouted that her son’s seat belt hadn’t locked as the cars entered their first climb.

This time, the ride reportedly stopped, and the seat belt, which the mother said was twisted and loose, was adjusted.

“We probably won’t go back for a while,” Cassie Evins said. “We need to see the change, and once we see that change, I will be comfortable taking my four children, who I am not comfortable taking currently.”

Inspectors from the Missouri Division of Fire Safety reportedly went to evaluate the coaster Thursday morning.

They told one of the affected guests that a ride inspector discovered some restraint devices that were "not functioning properly" on the Mamba, and the ride was taken out of service until repairs were made, which were expected to be done Thursday or Friday.

Sister station KMBC reached out to Six Flags, the parent company of Worlds of Fun, for a statement on the situation.

“The safety of our guests and team members is a top priority,” a park spokesperson said. “Following the report of a guest concern on the ride earlier this month, our team immediately closed the ride and completed a thorough inspection before reopening it that evening. The ride is equipped with a multi-layered restraint system, and it has operated safely since the initial concern was raised.

“The ride has undergone a comprehensive safety review, and we have implemented modifications requested by the Fire Marshal to ensure it meets or exceeds all applicable safety standards before it reopens to guests this evening.”

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