Riders Evacuated Off Derailed Roller Coaster

A roller coaster hit a tree branch at the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park Monday, dislodging the front car, leaving four people slightly injured and keeping nearly two dozen summer fun-seekers hanging 20 to 30 feet in the air for hours as day turned to night.

Two of the four people hurt on the Ninja coaster were taken to the hospital as a precaution, but all the injuries were minor, fire and park officials said.

"We were going across one turn and all of a sudden a loud noise happened," Jeremy Ead, one of the injured riders, said. "I ducked down just in time. A hard branch hit me in the head. I was there bleeding from my head"

The coaster struck the tree branch around 5:30 PDT and it wasn't until 3 hours later that all 22 riders were evacuated.

The park's website advertises that the Ninja roller coaster swoops through trees to give riders a thrill....it said nothing about concussions to go with those thrills.

No word yet on when the ride will reopen.