Father, son have terrifying ride on rollercoaster after seatbelt malfunctions

A terrifying moment for a Texas father and his 6-year-old son was caught on camera.  The two were on a roller coaster when the ride's seatbelt reportedly malfunctioned. 

The great time quickly changed for both Delbert Latham and his little boy, Kaysen, when they took a ride on the Mousetrap at Wonderland Park.

"As soon as we went over, I felt the seatbelt release. I guess the motion of it going down threw him to the bottom of the cart. That's when I reached over to grab him," Latham said.

The father held his son for the rest of the terrifying ride, then notified the ride operator of the incident.

"He stated to me that 'Oh yeah, I'm sorry about that. That's been happening sometimes.' That made me more angry obviously," Latham said.

Latham then asked for a supervisor and later, the owner, when people were let back on the ride.

"They didn't put anybody in the seat that we were sitting in, but they still loaded the rest of the seats up and let the ride take off again. In my opinion if someone tells you the seatbelt is broken, you should go ahead and just shut that part down and not let anyone on that ride," Latham said.

In a statement, Wonderland Park said it was extremely concerned to hear about the Latham's experience and appreciate the father quickly bringing it to the park's attention.  The park said it reached out to Latham that evening, removed the cart and ensured all seatbelts were in proper working order.

According to the Texas Department of Insurance, amusement parks are required by law to have insurance policies on each ride and an annual safety inspection conducted by a contractor hired by the insurance company.

Wonderland says its safety and maintenance teams conducts daily inspections on every ride.

Despite the regulations or laws governing parks, Latham says he just wants the rides fixed and he's glad he was there for his son.

 "What if an adult wasn't with him? That's not something I want to think about. Obviously it's something that crosses your mind. All I can say is I'm thankful that I was the person that was there and we don't have to cross that bridge," Latham said.