Oakland Co. man suffers head injury while riding Cedar Point rollercoaster

An Oakland County man who says he was hit in the head by a cellphone last weekend on a Cedar Point rollercoaster and got a concussion said he's sharing his story to encourage others to follow the rules and raise awareness.

David Carter said he was at the popular Sandusky, Ohio park, where he is a season passholder, on Saturday when another rider's cellphone fell out while on the Maverick rollercoaster and hit him in the head, creating an open wound that bled for more than an hour. Carter posted pictures on Facebook, saying he wanted to raise awareness.

"While riding the Maverick roller coaster, another patron on the same train decided to ignore the multiple rules and suggestions in place to store all loose articles in the bin prior to riding," Carter wrote in his post. "As a result, towards the end of the ride, I was hit in the head with their cell phone traveling at 70+ MPH from about 3 rows in front of me."

Cedar Point representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday night.

The 105-foot-tall ride "acts more like a bucking bronco than a coaster," passes through a tunnel and features a 95-degree-angle, according to the amusement park website.

On Tuesday, Carter, who is a paramedic, said he's doing better after seeking treatment at a hospital closer to home on Sunday. He's yet to hear from park officials since his social media post, but he said the response from those who've read it has been "mostly very supportive."

People are "realizing how serious this is, and how much worse this could’ve ended for myself or anyone else this could happen to," said Carter to The Detroit News. "...As a paramedic I see freak accidents all the time so I’m always on the forefront trying to educate to prevent these things from occurring."

The incident comes nearly two years after a Michigan woman was seriously injured when she was struck in the head by a metal bracket that fell off a rollercoaster at the park.

The accident on August 2021 occurred as the then-44-year-old Swartz Creek woman was waiting in line to ride the 420-foot tall Top Thrill Dragster. At the time, it was the world’s second-tallest roller coaster.

Officials said the object that struck Rachel Hawes was an L-shaped bracket about the size of a fist.

This month, Hawes filed a lawsuit in Ohio against Cedar Point and its parent company, alleging their negligence caused the accident that left her with traumatic brain injuries.

In February 2022, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which regulates amusement rides, issued a report that said there was no evidence Cedar Point acted illegally or had reason to believe the ride was unsafe before the incident.

The Top Thrill Dragster, which opened in 2003, launched riders on a straightaway at 120 mph before it climbed a hill and then came back down. The ride lasted less than 20 seconds.

Last September, Cedar Point announced it was retiring the Top Thrill Dragster.