Shane Matus hit in the face by bird on Six Flags rollercoaster
A 12-year-old Monmouth County boy was struck by a bird while riding a rollercoaster at Six Flags in New Jersey.
Kingda Ka’s tower at Six Flags New Jersey photo/Dusso Janladde
Shane Matus, of Howell Township, told Philadelphia’s NBC10.com that he was riding in the front car with his friend on the Kingda Ka rollercoaster around 5 p.m. Thursday when something slammed into his face.
“When it hit me I was like, ‘What the-? Did somebody throw a ball or something?’ When I started spitting out feathers, I was like, that was a bird,” said the boy.
Matus has bruises and scratches on his neck and face and stated: “They say the bird exploded. It hurt a lot for like three seconds. People behind us had feathers and blood all over them.”
The coaster was returning to the station when Matus collided with the bird.
Describing the incident, he said he turned his head toward the parking lot as a car alarm went off. “That car alarm didn’t go off, it would’ve hit me dead in the eye.”
The ride was immediately shut down until state regulators gave the all-clear for it to reopen around 30 minutes later.
An ambulance rushed Shane, who was at the theme park with his aunt, to the hospital.
His father, Adam Matus soon arrived.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Adam. “I mean, what kind of freak accident is this?”
“It was just a freak accident,” said Shane while chuckling. “Like one in a million that would happen.”
