World’s second-tallest roller coaster, Top Thrill Dragster, closed permanently

The thrills are over.

The world’s second-tallest roller coaster will be closed permanently, a year after a small object flew off the coaster and severely injured a woman in line.

The Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, was the world’s tallest coaster when it opened in 2003. It held that record for only two years, bested by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J.

Top Thrill Dragster is seen on May 1, 2003. (Paul M. Walsh/)

“Top Thrill Dragster, as you know it, is being retired,” Cedar Point said Tuesday in a statement.

More than 18 million people rode the coaster during its 19 years in operation, according to Cedar Point.

Rachel Hawes, a 44-year-old Michigan woman, was in line to join that lengthy list when an L-shaped bracket fell from a ride car and struck her in the head on Aug. 15, 2021. Hawes was seriously injured in the accident and suffered brain damage, her family said.

Riders enjoy the Top Thrill Dragster on May 1, 2003. (DANIEL MILLER/)

Top Thrill Dragster has been closed since the accident. Cedar Point was cleared of any wrongdoing in an investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture that was released in February 2022.

Though Top Thrill Dragster is being closed, Cedar Point has a history of reinventing “retired” rides and promised that its employees are “hard at work, creating a new and reimagined ride experience.”