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The Siren’s Curse roller coaster at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio malfunctioned on Saturday, forcing riders to walk down a 160-foot-high incline. It was reportedly the fifth time the country’s first “tilt” roller coaster has broken down and left its riders stranded since it opened on June 28. Luckily, no one has been injured during any of the ride’s malfunctions.
Cedar Point spokesman Tony Clark told the Akron Beacon Journal that the “delays” have been caused by the ride’s safety system engaging.
“Its safety system performed as designed, but the ride could not be restarted,” Clark said after the fourth ride malfunction on July 22.
Following the fifth incident, Clark said, “Over the last few weeks, the coaster has experienced minor technical delays − similar to a check engine light − that paused its operation. Its safety system performed as designed, keeping all guests safe. Following a complete systems check, guests either continued their ride then exited in the station, or were safely escorted off the ride if additional review was needed.”
Unfortunately, being “safely escorted off the ride” can mean having to walk down a 160-foot incline, as was the case during the most recent incident.
Breaking News 🚨 Sirens Curse coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio malfunctioned again, forcing riders to walk down the track. This is the 4th incident since the ride opened earlier this year. Video credit: Heather Hammond Semak. pic.twitter.com/feVNAyoFkZ
— Dave Bondy (@DaveBondyTV) July 27, 2025
The Siren’s Curse also stopped mid-tilt during the evening of July 19, leaving riders stranded at about a 45-degree angle for about 20 minutes, according to the Beacon Journal.
Is the ride really safe?
While having to exit the coaster in the middle of the ride isn’t ideal, mechanical engineer Nick Weisenberger, who has written books on the science of roller coasters, pointed out, “It’s important to understand that thrill rides are over-engineered for fail-safe performance. There are hundreds of sensors and they all have to agree; otherwise, the ride stops out of an abundance for caution.”
The Siren’s Curse, according Coaster101, makes an average of 240 runs per day. So while the five instances of the ride coming to a premature stop and stranding riders on it may be troubling, it’s really not very common (one tenth of one percent).
“Being positioned right on the Midway is a double-edged sword – it’s been great for all the viral videos of the ride working normally, but if it gets stuck at a dramatic angle for even a few minutes then it goes viral for the wrong reasons,” Weisenberger said.
Reactions on social media
Many people on social media expressed how terrified they would have been walking down the 160-foot incline.
“That walk down is definitely 10 times scarier than actually riding the ride,” one person wrote.
“They would have to come get me because there is no way I’m walking down,” said another.
“I’m scared of heights. So if this happened to me, my bones would’ve melted, and there would nothing be left of me but a blob of skin,” someone else joked.
“Walk down the track? Are you serious? OMG,” commented another X user.
“I couldn’t do it! I would be frozen with fear. Complete basket case. And I actually love roller coasters,” read another comment.
Content shared from brobible.com.