ATLANTA — The man who died at Six Flags Over Georgia will be laid to rest today. His former students also return to class for the first time since his death.
Hassan Kariem died on Oct. 12 when he was thrown from the Goliath roller coaster. His 13-year-old niece, who was sitting next to him, told her father that Kariem “passed out” before it happened.
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“And she said it went up again and his, his latch, I guess, snapped or came, came loose,” Joshua Nelson, her father and Kariem’s brother-in-law said.
A celebration of life will be held Monday afternoon at the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam.
Monday also marks the first day since students and staff at Wesley International Academy returned from fall break.
Kariem was affectionately known as Mr. Kariem at the school in southeast Atlanta. He worked as a technology teacher then the school’s IT manager. He also coached the school’s robotics team.
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