Six Flags Over Texas Reopens Texas Giant Coaster; Sued by Family for Texas Giant Death

Six Flags Over Texas and its affiliates are being sued after a woman fell off its Texas Giant coaster and died. Incidentally, the amusement park has announced to reopen the closed down ride by the weekend.

52-year old Rosa Esparza fell off the Texas Giant coaster on July 19 and died. According to the Star Telegram, Esparza rode the coaster with her daughter and son in law. On its first large descent, the 52-year old was in the process of being thrown out of the car and into the metal roof of a tunnel below. Esparza fell 75 feet before landing onto the tunnel's metal roof, says the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.

According to Dallas News, the Esparza family claims that Six Flags was negligent at ensuring the safety of passengers on the Texas Giant coaster. The ride only had lap bars to restrain passengers. The lap bars are checked and confirmed through the green light system. The green light system gives the go signal for operators once the safety bars are properly locked and in their proper positions.

The suit filed by the family states that inspections made after Esparza's death revealed faulty and inconsistent locking positions in the cars of the Texas Giant coaster. Six Flags also reportedly replaced a defective "limit switch" for a lap bar in the very car that Esparza rode in when she died.

Six Flags over Texas has refused to comment about the lawsuit. However, the amusement park's president has issued a statement regarding Esparza:

"We are heartbroken and will forever feel the pain and sadness of this tragic accident. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of Ms. Esparza," said Steve Martindale, park president of Six Flags Over Texas. "The safety of our guests and employees is our company's absolute highest priority and we try to take every reasonable precaution to eliminate the risk of accidents."

The amusement park announced Tuesday that the Texas Giant will be reopened this weekend after it was approved from the Texas Department of Insurance. The management will be providing a coaster ride seat at the ride entrance for testing purposes. It is said that guests with "unique body shapes and sizes may not fit into the ride's restraint system."