Written for What do you see ?
*Based on a true story
In the Spring of ’88 I was working at the local Amusement park. I sat bored, up at the Flying Dutchman roller coaster, which was always down for one reason or another.
The Enterprise was running normally at a 90° angle when all of a sudden it stops abrubtly while some people were upside down. Back then there weren’t seatbelts or safety straps, so those people upside down fell inside their compartment.
Then the ride quickly descended to the starting position.
Later on break I got the inside scoop from Ken who was the attendant at the enterprise. He said Christine, the ride operator was unable to stop the ride. When ride ops management came on the scene they told her not to panic. But she was already in panic mode, she grabbed the mic and screamed “I can’t stop the ride!!!” Management yelled “Whatever you do, don’t push the E-Stop (I never quite understood why there was an emergency stop button, if we were told to never push it). All she heard with the noise of the ride going was “Push the E-Stop!!!”.
And she did.
I was a senior in high school, when the park started it’s season in late April. A dude in my art class was on that ride, and he fell when he was upside down. No injuries, just a real frightening experience. He vowed to never ride a another ride if Christine was operating it.
iMartist 
