KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- As rescuers worked to free them from a derailed roller coaster car dangling 35 feet above the ground, Rachel and Robin waited quietly, desperate not to move a muscle.
The teenagers were strapped into seats of the Orient Express, the signature roller coaster of the Worlds of Fun amusement park, and for two hours Saturday night, they looked straight up at the cars above them."They were so quiet, I think they were in shock more than anything," Fire Department Battalion Chief Tommy Walker told Monday's editions of The Kansas City Star. "There wasn't any screaming, crying or hysterics."
The cause of the derailment appeared to be mechanical, but it was unclear whether the track or the train was defective, Daniel Keller, vice president and general manager of the amusement park, said Sunday.
Thirteen people on the train, including the teenagers, were taken to area hospitals and were released early Sunday without serious injuries. Park officials and Kansas City police declined to release their names.
The last two cars of the seven-car Orient Express train derailed about 9:30 p.m. Saturday just as the train was decelerating from its trip and approaching the loading platform.
"It was this big jerk and a loud squeal," said Mary Kary Jones, who said she was in one of the cars.