EUREKA, Mo. -- Six Flags Over Mid-America says the Rail Blazer ride, modified with new safety restraints after a fatal accident July 7, will reopen Wednesday afternoon.
The stand-up roller coaster ride was shut down due to the death of Stella Holcomb, 45, of Indianapolis. Mrs. Holcomb, who was standing next to her husband and holding his hand, was thrown from the ride and fatally injured.
Six Flags spokesman Laurie Odum initially said the ride would open Thursday, but said officials at the amusement park outside St. Louis decided to move that up by one day.
The county officially closed its investigation Tuesday after getting a final report from David A. Peters, an engineering consultant.
The report said the victim's weight -- listed as 260 pounds in an autopsy report -- might have contributed to her being thrown from the ride. He also speculated that the ride's harnesses might have been fitted over her too loosely because of her size.
Peters concluded that 'there was absolutely no mechanical failure of the latching and restraint mechanism, the restraint system was reasonably latched and secured ... and remained latched throughout the ride ... and Mrs. Holcomb accidentally slipped out of the latched restraint.'
Peters said the only way a similar accident could happen with the new restraints would involve an 'attempted suicide by an accomplished acrobat.'