Bird 'Explodes' Against Roller Coaster Rider's Face - East Idaho News
National

Bird ‘Explodes’ Against Roller Coaster Rider’s Face

  Published at

Getty 073012 RollercoasterFeathersiStock?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1343676062266iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A 12-year-old boy is lucky to have his sight after a freak accident on a New Jersey roller coaster Thursday evening.

Shane Matus was riding in the front seat of the 456-foot-tall Kingda Ka — the world’s tallest coaster — when he was struck in the face by what was believed to be a pigeon.

“I was like, ‘What the…did somebody throw a ball or something?'” Matus recalled to WCAU-TV. “They say the bird exploded,” he said, commenting, “It hurt a lot for like three seconds. People behind us had feathers and blood all over them.”

The Six Flags ride, capable of a 128 mile-per-hour top speed, was shut for 30 minutes after the incident.

Matus says he’s just glad he was distracted by a blaring car alarm, which made him turn his head moments before impact, otherwise, the bird would have hit him right in the eyes.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION