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A man is suing COTALAND amusement park in Texas for $1 million after being stuck on a roller coaster for over an hour
Matthew Cantu alleges he suffered physical injuries as a result of the incident and claims the park lacked an emergency evacuation plan
COTALAND denies the claims, stating the ride’s safety systems worked as intended during the delay
A man is suing a Texas theme park after he was left dangling 130 feet in the air on a roller coaster for more than an hour.
In a complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Matthew Cantu of Austin, Texas, is seeking $1 million in damages after he says he was injured in a December 2025 incident in which he and a friend, Nicholas Sanchez, were stuck on the Circuit-Breaker roller coaster at COTALAND, a new amusement park in Austin. The pair were allegedly left hanging vertically for more than an hour.
The lawsuit claims Cantu suffered injuries to his head, neck, back and other parts of his body. Cantu also alleges that he doesn’t feel that there was an emergency protocol followed in the incident.
Construction on the Circuit Breaker at COTALAND in Austin, Texas.
Credit: Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty
“When you’re in that scenario and you hear them call out, ‘Get the manual,’ I mean, that sends shivers down the spine,” Cantu told KXAN.
The suit points to at least five other instances of this style of “tilt” roller coaster malfunctioning in other theme parks since June of last year. It alleges that none resulted in riders being kept in a vertical position as long as Cantu and Sanchez were.
Catalina Sanchez, a publicist and Cantu’s partner, was on the ground and captured footage of the men dangling in the air.“As a loved one, you never expect to go through something like that,” Catalina, who is Nicholas’ sister, told CBS Austin at the time.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE in December, she claims the ride stopped at 8:52 p.m. After 30 minutes of “no clear updates,” the family decided to call 911. She said Cantu experienced “lightheadedness and symptoms consistent with blood pooling,” while Nicholas felt “numbness in his upper leg following the prolonged suspension.”
In December, Cantu told CBS Austin that his mind “went to the darkest places,” while stuck on the ride. “Being up there that long, it can do a lot to a person.”
“At that position, the only thing between the ground and you is the harness,” Cantu told the outlet. “Once we got to that 90-degree angle and a sufficient amount of time had passed, we realized that something serious was wrong.”
In a December statement shared with CBS Austin, a spokesperson for the park said “a sensor triggered a ride delay” and that the issue was resolved and the “ride proceeded without incident.”
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“We take guest safety extremely seriously, and the ride’s built-in safety systems functioned exactly as intended during this temporary delay,” COTALAND vice president of marketing Griffin Tendler told KXAN in a statement in response to the lawsuit.
He continued, “While we understand that any interruption can be frustrating for guests, the characterization of this incident in the lawsuit is inaccurate and motivated by greed. Our focus remains on delivering a safe, enjoyable experience for every future guest at COTALAND.”
KXAN reported the roller coaster passed inspection and received a compliance sticker valid until Oct. 31, 2026 according to the Texas Department of Insurance. The ride opened to the public in October 2025 to coincide with the F1 U.S. Grand Prix. COTALAND, Austin’s first major theme park, is expected to fully open this summer.
PEOPLE has reached out to COTALAND for comment.
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