Six Flags Great Adventure shutters Nitro hypercoaster after teachers fatal plunge from similar ride

Six Flags Great Adventure has temporarily shut down its Nitro rollercoaster after a teacher fell to his death from a similar ride in Georgia on Monday.The theme park in Jackson Township, NJ, shut down Nitro out of “an abundance of caution,” Six Flags said, as investigators probe the tragic mishap in which beloved teacher Hassan Kariem, 42, slipped from his safety restraint on the Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia — slamming into fellow riders before dropping to his death.Great Adventure’s “hypercoaster” — which boasts a glimpse of Philadelphia from its 215-foot drop — is one of nine coasters at parks across North America that have shuttered since Kariem’s death.“Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily closed similar attractions across our parks,” Six Flags said in a statement.“The safety of our guests and team members remains one of our highest priorities.”The amusement park company said investigators are hard at work finding out what went wrong in Georgia.The tragedy and ensuing closures came in the middle of the theme park’s annual autumn rush.The “Fright Fest” event at Six Flags Great Adventure runs through Halloween — but it’s unclear if Nitro will be back up and running before the annual festivity ends.

Nitro was designed by the same company as Goliath: Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, which built eight of the nine temporarily closed coasters.Some of those rides have safety belts as a backup to the lap restraints that secure riders to their seats.But Goliath doesn’t have those safety belts — and neither does Nitro, according to travel blogger Nathan Kerney.It remains unclear if the lack of seatbelts had anything to do with the deadly mishap.Six Flags has not replied to The Post’s request for comment on the matter.The ride closures come just weeks after Magic Mountain in California permanently retired its X2 roller coaster in late September following claims from more than 100 riders that the att...