You probably recall the recent incident at Six Flags Over Texas in which a roller coaster rider fell to her death and the subsequent lawsuit filed against the park by the rider’s family. Now the amusement park is responding to the allegations, and saying it can’t be blamed because it didn’t design or build the coaster.

“Defendants plead the defense of independent contractor as Defendants were not the designer or manufacturer or the roller coaster train and its passenger system,” reads an Oct. 4 court filing [PDF] by the park and Six Flags Entertainment, “nor were Defendants the designer or manufacturer of the roller coaster track or its layout.”

Six Flags says it “relied upon the expertise of the independent contractors it hired with regard to the design and manufacture of the ride and trains including the restraint system.”

The park goes on to state that it had been following the inspection and maintenance procedures on the ride as set forth by manufacturers’ recommendations.

Finally, the filing attempts to distance Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. from the lawsuit by pointing out it is not the owner or operator of Six Flags Over Texas and should thus not be part of the lawsuit. The Texas park is actually owned by dozens of private investors.

The accident happened in late July and the coaster was reopened in September.

[via Chron.com]

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