Cassie and Chris Evins are parents of four from Kansas who wanted some family fun. They went to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri, and the couple rode the Mamba, a steel roller coaster. During the ride, they heard a horrific scream coming from behind them. A young girl’s seat belt allegedly came undone, and Cassie and Chris Evins physically held her down during the rest of the ride. Thankfully, a camera near the Mamba caught a photo of the terrifying ride.
Cassie Evins and Chris Evins shared their terrifying story with KCTV.
“We get on the roller coaster and the very first hill, the girl sitting behind my wife just lets out this blood-curdling scream like I’ve never heard before,” Chris Evins said. “I assumed it was her first time on the ride, and then she said my seat belt came undone.”
Their parental instincts kicked in. They both turned around to help the girl, doing their best to keep the young girl in her seat.
“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 seat belt,” Chris Evins shared. “I looped my arm underneath the lap bar, and I grabbed a hold of her wrist. My wife was pushing down on her legs.”
Cassie and Chris Evins are Worlds of Fun season pass holders and know the Mamba well. That helped them anticipate how the ride would move.
“As we crested each hill or as we started to go up to the top, I recognized that it was going to lift her out of her seat. So I kind of shifted our positions to, instead of hold her, to push down on her whole body to keep her from coming out of the seat while we’re going over those hills,” Chris Evins explained.
Cassie Evins told KMBC she wanted to help but was concerned about everyone’s safety.
“72 miles an hour, holding onto somebody. It’s terrifying,” she admitted.
KMBC reported that just a day after the Evins’ experience, another guest allegedly told operators her son’s seat belt was not working properly. That time, operators reportedly stopped the Mamba. But it’s not enough for Cassie Evins.
“We probably won’t go back for a while,” she said. “We need to see the change, and once we see that change, I will be comfortable taking my four children, who I am not comfortable taking currently.”
The couple became separated from the young girls after the ride ended. Cassie Evins shared a photo from the Mamba on Facebook, hoping to identify the two girls behind them.
“If you know either of them, please let them know I’d like to get them this photo!
“Thank you! We were all very shaken up after this entire thing, I forgot to get contact information!” Cassie Evins wrote in her post. “For context: me and my husband are (attempting) to hold her down as her seatbelt/restraint came loose on the first hill of the Mamba!”
Six Flags, the parent company of Worlds of Fun, shared a statement about the Mamba incident with KMBC.
“The safety of our guests and team members is a top priority,” a park spokesperson shared. “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, and it has operated safely since the initial concern was raised.
“The ride has undergone a comprehensive safety review, and we have implemented modifications requested by the Fire Marshall to ensure it meets or exceeds all applicable safety standards before it reopens to guests this evening,” Six Flags added.
“My whole thought after the incident is, 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,” Chris Evins told KCTV.
Everyone’s terror is visible in the photo from the Mamba. It’s almost like Cassie and Chris Evins were seated there like guardian angels. Thankfully, they’re all OK. We can only imagine how grateful those girls’ parents are for the couple, even if they never have the chance to thank them personally. There’s something incredible about being in the right place at the right time.
