Cedar Point Investigation Shows Ride's Broken Part Caused Injury To Michigan Woman

State investigators say a bracket flew off a Cedar Point roller coaster earlier this month causing serious injury to a Michigan woman. She was standing in line when an object hit her.

The head injuries Rachel Hawes suffered were caused by an L bracket from the 420-foot-tall Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster.

“Half of the bolts that secured the train to the train body were still in place, said David Miran, Chief of the Amusement Ride Safety Division for the Ohio Department of Agriculture. "The track on which the train returns near the finish line, which is called the brake bracket area, show signs of impact and deformation. Several horizontal track beams show signs of impact within approximately 25 feet of the brake bracket." 

Ohio's agriculture department is in charge of amusement parks and has been collecting evidence to more fully explain what caused the bracket to dislodge. Miran says further investigation is being done on the train car itself.

There's been no update about Hawes’ condition.

Cedar Point has closed the ride for the rest of the season.

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