Young boy hit by bird while on New Jersey roller coaster

A young boy was hit right in the face by a bird while riding a roller coaster at the Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson, New Jersey.

According to the Asbury Park Press, the person was only identified by theme park spokeswoman Kristin Siebeneicher as a juvenile male. He was riding their Kingda Ka roller coaster when a bird crashed into his face. Thankfully, he only suffered minor injuries on his face and neck. Still, he was taken to an area hospital.

Siebeneicher added that the crash occurred at 4:45pm on Thursday as the roller coaster train reached the peak of one of its hills.

The Associated Press reports that the Kingda Ka roller coaster reaches a height of 45 stories and reaches a top speed of 128 mph. The park advertizes the ride as “the tallest coaster in the World, fastest in North America.” It even allows riders to “experience weightlessness” as they quickly go up and down its hills and valleys.

Siebeneicher confirmed that the ride was shut down for 30 minutes. “We immediately shut the ride down and notified the state Department of Community Affairs, which is protocol. They cleared us to reopen the ride approximately 30 minutes later.”

“Nothing like this has ever happened before - it was a true act of nature,” she added, reports The New York Daily News.