The company also said it was supporting people affected by the tragedy and would limit further comment while respecting the family’s privacy.
Six Flags Over Georgia reopened four days later. Since then, the park has quietly removed the phrase “dead man” from the name of one of its Halloween productions.
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A CNN review of X2’s safety record in August found more than a dozen accounts from riders who reported serious injuries or hospital treatment that they believed followed rides on the coaster. The report also referenced two deaths.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has seen its stock fall sharply since the latest tragedy, with shares trading at roughly $7.24 (£5.41) this week.
That level represented an unprecedented low since Six Flags completed its £8 billion merger with Cedar Fair in 2024.
Pete Davies, founder and managing director of UK crisis specialist Sugar PR, believes Six Flags is now following a carefully prepared damage-control strategy aimed at repairing public confidence.
“Any business that places members of the public in situations involving physical risk should have a crisis plan in place,” Mr Davies told Our News Outlet. “Those plans will have been practised for a serious incident of this kind.
“A company should expect media attention after a major public tragedy. The correct response is to activate the plan and carry it out carefully, step by step, to manage the crisis effectively.”
According to his future brother-in-law, Joshua Nelson, who spoke to CNN, Mr Kariem worked in education technology at Wesley International Academy and had visited the park for his fiancée’s niece’s 13th birthday.
Mr Kariem died after being thrown from his seat on Goliath in front of horrified passengers (stock image of the ride)
Officials are investigating how Mr Kariem fell from the coaster, which began operating in 2006.
The company’s actions in the immediate aftermath—and throughout the months and years ahead—will be critical to its ability to restore trust among theme park visitors.
Mr Davies warned that changing the Six Flags brand itself would be the wrong approach.
“Rebranding would be an enormous gamble,” he said. “The public, investors and the wider business community could view it as a knee-jerk attempt to distance Six Flags from what happened. People are far too perceptive for that strategy to work.”
Instead, he believes the company may need to commit to a reputation-recovery programme lasting at least three years.
Mr Davies said Six Flags would likely be contacting customers, employees, business partners, influencers and celebrities connected with the brand in an effort to reassure them that the tragedy was being treated with the utmost seriousness.
“They must show clearly what steps they are taking to rebuild confidence in the company and its parks,” he said.
“The tragedy itself will not be forgotten, but neither will the way Six Flags handles it. A poor response can define how the public remembers an incident for years.”
Mr Kariem, who worked in education technology at Wesley International Academy in Atlanta, had gone to Six Flags to mark the 13th birthday of his fiancée’s niece, according to Joshua Nelson, his future brother-in-law, in comments to CNN.
“His last moments and final words were with her,” Mr Nelson said. He added that the girl called him in tears after the ride, saying that Mr Hassan had fallen from it.
Witnesses said Mr Kariem was ejected from his seat and hit the ride’s metal structure several times before falling to the ground. Some passengers were reportedly left covered in blood.
Video and images appearing to show Mr Kariem falling over other riders and striking the coaster head-first have circulated widely online. His relatives have urged social media users to stop reposting the material.
