Officials rescue eight passengers stuck on 'Joker' ride

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Joker ride at Six Flags over Texas is back open after a nightmare over the weekend.

The roller coaster was supposed to have its grand opening on Saturday, but some high school students got to ride it Friday night during an all-night school event.

Engineers said high winds around 12:30 p.m. caused it to stop mid-ride as stormy weather moved in. Eight people were trapped for about three hours.

No one was hurt but a teen who was rescued called it one of the worst nights of her life.

“It was raining throughout the whole thing. The wind was blowing like crazy. It was lightning,” Christian Chaney said. “It was one of the scariest moments of my life. They kept telling me not to look down.”

Firefighters brought in a technical team to rescue each person.

“We take lightning into consideration but you have to remember when we arrived there were eight young people stuck on a rollercoaster in the middle of the air. So the weather wasn’t going to stop us from going up there and helping them,” said Deputy Chief Mike French with the Arlington Fire Department.

“We had to actually stand up in our seats with a harness on us, step over the opposite side of the ride and step down to where the man was standing with a ladder,” Chaney said.

The Joker is a fast and intense roller coaster designed for thrill seekers. It climbs 12 stories at a 90 degree angle before flipping riders upside down six times.

Six Flags said engineers completed a thorough inspection and reopened the ride Sunday after declaring it safe.