Wildcat in 1997: the accident that ended the coaster’s time at Bell’s

Wildcat arrived at Bell’s Amusement Park in 1974. This Anton Schwarzkopf steel coaster occupied a different role from Zingo: more compact, sharper in motion and formed of individual cars, it brought the park the characteristic experience of the German builder’s portable Wildcat model.

April 20, 1997

On a Sunday afternoon, a car approaching the top of the lift disengaged and rolled backward. It collided with another car lower on the lift. A fourteen-year-old boy died and six other people were injured. The park remained open, but Wildcat was immediately removed from operation while the accident was investigated.

The end of Wildcat in Tulsa

The accident permanently ended Wildcat’s place in Bell’s ride lineup. The coaster was dismantled and did not return to operation in Tulsa. Public reporting and the later legal process remained centered on the failure of the mechanism intended to prevent a car from rolling backward on the lift.

A second life as Avalanche

John Hofeditz of Spectacular Rides purchased the ride in 2000, after which it remained in storage for several years. In 2008, the former Wildcat was installed at Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Ocean City, Maryland, under the name Avalanche. It operated there until 2014 before being sold again. That relocation does not diminish the seriousness of its Tulsa history, but it shows that the structure continued to exist long after leaving Bell’s.