Authorities believe roller coaster death an accident

SANTA CLAUS, Ind. -- Witnesses saw a woman "virtually standing up" while riding a roller coaster at Holiday World amusement park moments before she fell to her death, investigators said Tuesday.\nAuthorities had already said they believed the death of Tamar Fellner of New York City was an accident, and the Spencer County coroner's office officially ruled the death an accident Tuesday.\nFellner, 32, was among a group of roller coaster enthusiasts at Holiday World Saturday night when she fell from The Raven.\nPark officials said Fellner fell from the ride while it was in the midst of a 69-foot drop.\nFellner was riding next to her fiance, Robert Weitzner, officials said. A telephone message was left Wednesday by The Associated Press for Weitzner at his New York City home.\nFellner's father declined to comment Wednesday.\n"We're in a state of mourning, and we're not discussing anything," said Azriel Fellner, who is a rabbi in Livingston, N.J.\nFellner was seated in the last row of the six-car train on the wooden roller coaster, and a preliminary investigation showed her seat belt and lap bar were buckled and locked when she started the ride.\nWitnesses told investigators that her seat belt was unbuckled when the car returned to the station, said a statement issued by Spencer County Prosecutor Jon Dartt.\nWitnesses also said that just before the accident a person matching Fellner's description "was seen in the last car of the roller coaster virtually standing up while the ride was in progress," the statement said.\nState inspectors on Sunday found the seat belt and bar restraint where Fellner had been sitting working properly.\nWilliam Koch, the president of the amusement park, expressed his sympathy for Fellner, whose funeral was Tuesday in New York.\nKoch also said he was relieved that the park about 40 miles east of Evansville and its employees appeared to be cleared by the investigation.\n"It sounds as though they're leaning toward the possibility that she may not have been in the correct riding position," Koch said. "If that is the case, then we would feel confident that the ride, as a whole, is functioning as it should."\nBoth The Raven and The Legend, the park's other wooden roller coaster, were shut down for state inspection during the investigation. The Legend was expected to reopen Wednesday.\nThe park also hired an independent inspector to review The Raven's operations and safety and maintenance procedures later this week, Koch said. The soonest that roller coaster could reopen would be this weekend.\nFellner was a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts group, which was at the amusement park for a park-sponsored "Stark Raven Mad" event.