Credit: Six FlagsA 17-year-old died at Six Flags Mexico shortly after riding Superman: Ultimate Escape (Superman El Último Escape). The boy’s family criticized the theme park’s response to the incident after a video emerged online of employees forming a human chain around him while he lay on the ground.
According to El Informante Mexico, David Ordoñez Castillo, 17, fainted after riding the Mexico City theme park’s Superman: Ultimate Escape roller coaster. He reportedly “began to feel bad” before losing consciousness and experiencing seizures.
The network posted a video of the 17-year-old lying on the ground as Six Flags Mexico staff formed a “human chain” around him. Employees reportedly prevented the boy’s loved ones from approaching him as he awaited help.
*The video below may be disturbing to some viewers.
View this post on Instagram
“The Six Flags staff started forming a chain and didn’t let anyone approach him,” said Ordoñez Castillo’s brother, Rodrigo. “His friends tried to help, he was lying on his back and he was still moving, he was moving his arms, like he was choking, trying to breathe, but no one could touch him.”
Ordoñez Castillo’s family also criticized emergency responders for taking “15 to 20 minutes” to arrive at the scene. The teenager was taken to Hospital Ángeles del Pedregal, but his mother, Angélica, said he died before reaching the hospital.
“My son got off the ride, the Superman, started convulsing and that was it, he was gone,” she recalled. “…We were diverted to Hospital Ángeles del Pedregal…I got there and they told me my son had already arrived without life.”
Rodrigo said his brother’s autopsy showed a “cerebral and pulmonary edema” but that there were “certain things” in the report that didn’t make sense.
“For example, it states he died at the hospital, when they told us he had already arrived without life,” Rodrigo said.
According to EnPareja, Six Flags Mexico said all established protocols were followed during Ordoñez Castillo’s medical emergency. They said emergency services took four minutes to arrive, and the “stabilized” 17-year-old left the park in an ambulance “within 17 minutes.”
Inside the Magic sends our condolences to Ordoñez Castillo’s family.