The 50th State Fair's roller coaster, the Wild Cat, was shut down for several hours yesterday after a problem with the connection between a pair of cars was discovered and an emergency stop was made.
Emergency leaves riders
stranded on roller coaster
Some roller-coaster riders were stuck in a pair of cars at the top of a 30-foot-high loop at the 50th State Fair yesterday, witnesses said.
The Wild Cat operator made an emergency stop of the ride about 1 p.m. after hearing an unusual noise, said Donna Smith, vice president for E.K. Fernandez Shows.
The ride remained shut down for about six hours.
She said the stop was a precautionary measure, and the operator did the right thing.
"I don't think this was an emergency situation," she said.
The pairs of roller coaster cars are hitched together, and the operator unhooked one of the pairs, Smith said.
Smith said the noise came from the linkage between the two pairs of cars, and repairmen fixed the problem yesterday afternoon and checked the entire ride.
"We won't operate it unless we know it's 100 percent safe," Smith said.
The Honolulu Fire Department was called about 1 p.m., but passengers were brought down before firefighters arrived.
"I think some woman on the ride panicked and called the Fire Department," Smith said.
