A rollercoaster camera caught screams of terror rather than thrills after a couple say they had to reach to stop the girl behind them from falling out.
They heard screams from the seat behind them on October 11, which sounded different to the usual excited shouts.
A girl behind them said her seatbelt had come undone, and so Chris and Cassie Evins spent the rest of the ride twisted around trying to keep her secured inside.
They are season ticket holders to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, so were familiar with the route of the Mamba ride, and knew that there were more hills coming up on the ride, which has a maximum height of 208ft and reaches 75mph.
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Chris told KCTV5: ‘I had looped my arm underneath her lap bar, which had a pretty big gap between her and the lap bar. So at this point, I’m seeing a huge space, no seatbelt.
‘I looped my arm underneath the lap bar, and I grabbed a hold of her wrist. My wife was pushing down on her legs.’
After the ride finally ended, with the girl still safely in her seat, they reported what happened to staff, and the ride was closed for the rest of the day for safety checks.
Chris added: ‘What if it had been somebody else in our seats? What if it was others, her friends? You know, they could have had a drastically different outcome.’
After the ride ended, they became separated from the girl so did not get a chance to speak to her, but would like to connect with the family.
The ride was closed for the rest of the day until it could have a safety check, and reopened that evening.
KCTV reported that the Missouri Department of Public Safety said the Mamba was inspected on April 25, 2025.
A ‘spot inspection’ was done October 30, after which the ride was shut down for repairs to some seatbelts to take place.
It was reinspected the next day, and approved to reopen.
World of Fun said in a statement: ‘Following the report of a guest concern on the ride earlier this month, our team immediately closed the ride and completed a thorough inspection before reopening it that evening.
‘The ride is equipped with a multi-layered restraint system, with the lap bar being the primary restraints and were found to be fully functioning in multiple inspections. The ride has operated safely since the initial concern was raised.’
They added that since then, it has had a ‘comprehensive safety review, and we implemented modifications requested by the Fire Marshall to ensure it meets or exceeds all applicable safety standards’.
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