Westport Woman Stuck on Six Flags Ride for 45 Minutes in the Rain

Westport resident Samantha Stanley experienced a heart-stopping moment over the weekend during a trip to Six Flags New England when a ride on The Joker turned into a terrifying 45-minute ordeal suspended roughly 120 feet in the air.

What was supposed to be a fun afternoon with friends and kids quickly became something straight out of a nightmare. “It was fine the first time,” Stanley said. “Then we went back on again and heard this weird clicking sound.”

Stanley and her friend’s 11-year-old daughter boarded The Joker for a second ride around 4 p.m. Saturday. Moments later, just before the ride was supposed to begin its forward-and-backward flipping motion, everything suddenly stopped at the highest point.

That’s when the panic began.

Stuck in the Rain With Nobody Realizing They Were Up There

According to Stanley, she soon realized something even more unsettling: workers allegedly believed the ride was empty.

“We heard over the speaker that the ride was all clear and empty,” she said. “I texted my friend from my Apple Watch and said, ‘Girl, we’re stuck at the top. You have to tell them there’s people on this ride because they have no idea.’”

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Stanley said she and the child were suspended backward near the top of the attraction while rain poured directly into their faces. Since the ride is largely exposed, there was little protection from the weather.

Meanwhile, the young girl sitting beside her was understandably terrified. “She kept asking me, ‘Are you sure we’re going to make it off this thing alive?’” Stanley recalled. Trying to stay calm, Stanley said she focused on distracting the girl by talking about future trips and looking around the park to keep their minds occupied. “I told her, ‘We’re going to get off this alive,’” she said.

Forty-Five Minutes That Felt Like Forever

Stanley estimated they remained stranded for about 45 minutes before the ride finally resumed and brought them safely back down. By that point, she said all she wanted was out of the restraint harness.

The experience became even more emotional once they reached the ground. The young girl immediately jumped into Stanley’s arms and told her she never wanted to do that again. Ironically, by the next morning, the child had apparently already decided she’d give the ride another chance someday. Kids are resilient like that.

As for Stanley? She said The Joker was actually her favorite ride in the park before all of this happened. “Will I go back to Six Flags? One hundred percent,” she said. “Will I ride The Joker again anytime soon? Probably not.”

After hearing her story, that’s probably understandable. The park was notified about the event and a spokesperson offered to help the two stranded victims to whatever they wanted. The ride was immediately shut down along with the remainder of the park due to inclement weather.