World's 10 Best Thrill Rides

James Hackemer was thrown from ride

(NEWSER) - Rough story from the Darien Lake amusement park in upstate New York: A 29-year-old man who lost both legs in the Iraqi war is dead after falling out of a 200-foot-high roller coaster. James Hackemer lost his limbs to a roadside bomb in 2008 and just barely survived. "We shouldn't have had him for these last three years and four months," his mother tells the Buffalo News . "After he was hit by the IED, he died once in the field and once on the operating table." More»

(NEWSER) - Theme park operator Six Flags has declared bankruptcy, Bloomberg reports. The company has not had a profitable year since 1998 and is burdened with $2.4 billion in debt. Six Flags underwent a wide-ranging reorganization starting in 2005 when Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder became chairman. The company, whose 20 parks draw 25 million visitors a year, seeks to reduce its debt by $1.8 billion and eliminate $300 million in stock obligations. More»

He wasn't on the ride but got hit while walking in a restricted area

(AP) - A teenager was decapitated by a roller coaster after he hopped a pair of fences and entered a restricted area today at Six Flags Over Georgia, authorities said. Officials are uncertain why the 17-year-old from Columbia, SC, scaled two 6-foot fences and ignored signs that said the restricted area was dangerous. Witnesses reported he was retrieving a hat he had lost while on the ride earlier. More»

Abu Dhabi, Shanghai also among locations planning impressive amusements

(NEWSER) - The big US amusement companies—Six Flags, Universal, SeaWorld, Warner Bros., MGM—have all seen the future, and it's in Dubai. That's where the world's largest playland—a sprawling $64-billion collection of theme parks, golf courses, museums and hotels—is going up, but it's only the most dramatic of projects in the works all over the Middle and Far East, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»