Man rides roller coaster 7,000 times

MASON, Ohio, July 5 (UPI) -- A 70-year-old man took his 7,000th ride on the Diamondback roller coaster at Kings Island amusement park near Mason, Ohio, observers said Thursday.

Gary Coleman of Monfort Heights, Ohio, began riding the 230-foot tall steel roller coaster when it opened in 2009 "just for fun," he said, but it quickly turned into a passion.

His landmark 7,000th ride came on the Fourth of July.

Coleman has spent more than 350 hours on the one-mile long coaster since it opened, and achieved a single-day high of 111 rides on June 17, WXIX-TV, Cincinnati, reported Thursday.