The Circuit of the Americas' new theme park is facing a $1 million lawsuit alleging “gross negligence” after a roller coaster incident that left a rider injured. The lawsuit alleges COTALAND, which is set to fully open this year, didn’t have an evacuation plan ready when the “Circuit Breaker” ride malfunctioned on Dec. 17, leaving riders Matthew Cantu and Nicholas Sanchez stuck in a 90-degree position, 120 feet in the air, for more than an hour. Cantu claims he suffered injuries to his head, neck, back and other body parts during the ordeal. The lawsuit, filed May 9 in Travis County, names both Circuit of the Americas and the manufacturer as defendants. Cantu, 24, alleges negligence, gross negligence, premises liability, maintenance failures and product defects tied to the incident on the “tilt coaster” attraction. According to court documents first reported by KXAN, the ride malfunctioned around 8:52 p.m. while the coaster was tilted vertically, leaving the two riders facing straight down from roughly 120 feet in the air. The lawsuit alleges park staff did not evacuate riders and instead restarted the ride after more than an hour with riders suspended in the air. Cantu’s girlfriend, Cataline Sanchez, told KXAN that she called 911 after receiving little information from park employees about the incident for 30 minutes. Austin Fire Department crews arrived shortly after, according to the lawsuit. Immediately after the incident last year, representatives for COTALAND said in a statement that the coaster experienced a temporary delay due to a sensor issue and maintained that the ride’s built-in safety systems functioned as intended.
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COTA theme park faces $1M lawsuit after roller coaster malfunction
A lawsuit alleges riders were stranded 120 feet in the air for more than an hour on COTALAND’s Circuit Breaker coaster, with no evacuation plan in place.
Published May 15, 2026 at 2:46pm by Julianna Duennes Russ
