Mullen’s family reacts to the verdict

A Six Flags parkgoer who fell to his death from a roller coaster had reportedly fainted before his restraint “snapped,” according to his niece, who was riding beside the educator.

Hassan Kariem, 42, was aboard the high-speed Goliath hypercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, near Atlanta, shortly before 4 p.m. Monday when he was ejected from the ride. He died, and four other parkgoers were injured.

Kariem’s niece had been celebrating her 13th birthday at the park when she called her father in a panic after the incident.

“What she told me on that phone call, she said he fainted, or he passed out,” Joshua Nelson, the girl’s father and Kariem’s brother-in-law, told WSBTV Thursday.

“They went up and down, up and down, up and down. It went up again, his latch snapped or came loose, and he fell. She told me he fell off the rollercoaster,” Nelson said.

The girl also told her father that she did not know where her uncle was after he fell from the ride. Kariem was a beloved technology teacher at Wesley International Academy.

Nelson then called Kariem’s wife, Eboni, who had been waiting outside the attraction. She knew something was wrong but had not yet learned what had happened, according to the outlet.

Soon afterward, Kariem’s wife heard authorities announce that someone had died. She immediately feared the victim was her husband.

Nelson said the girl was not physically injured in the frightening incident.

NEXT UP: The Traitors: New Blood Elimination—Who Went Home This Week?

According to Six Flags, the Goliath opened in 2006 and reaches speeds of 70 mph and heights of 200 feet during its approximately three-and-a-half-minute run.

Cobb County police said Wednesday that officers found Kariem “unresponsive and not breathing” beneath the attraction.

“Preliminary information gathered through witness and employee interview indicates Kariem was ejected from the ride and struck other patrons before falling beneath the attraction,” the Cobb County Police Department said in a statement.

Four children sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to a hospital, police said.

“Because they were all juveniles, no further information can be shared,” E.D. Smith, a Cobb County police public information officer, told The Post Thursday.

Six Flags supervisor KeJuan Taylor told CNN that he was the first person to find Kariem after the fall, calling the experience “genuinely horrifying.”

“I have not suffered any physical injuries but it has been on my mind very recently through these past days,” Taylor said.

Six Flags said the park would reopen Friday, while Goliath would remain “temporarily closed,” a park spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

The death is being investigated by the Cobb County Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit and Georgia’s Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire.

A Dublin hotel refused to host an international conference on combating antisemitism and later canceled roughly 70 rooms reserved for delegates after its general manager asked whether the Israel Defense Forces would be involved, according to a Jewish community leader who attended a planning meeting.

Maurice Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, told News Media that he and an event organizer met with officials from the Herbert Park Hotel—including its general manager—on May 7 to explain the gathering and discuss logistical arrangements.

The meeting concerned an event linked to this week’s Special Envoys and Coordinators Combating Antisemitism Conference, which brought Jewish leaders, diplomats and government officials responsible for addressing antisemitism to Dublin, Ireland.

Cohen said organizers had received written confirmation that approximately 70 rooms were being held for conference participants.

At the meeting, Cohen explained that the conference would include Jewish community representatives, diplomats and government officials, many of whom were not Jewish. He said the manager’s demeanor changed before she asked whether the IDF would be involved.

“I was completely taken aback by that question,” Cohen told News Media. “I said, ‘What would the IDF have to do with a conference on antisemitism?’”

Cohen said the hotel did not provide an explanation at the time. Instead, the general manager said she would consult the owners before determining whether the event could go ahead.

Organizers received an email on May 8, the day after the meeting, saying the hotel could not accommodate their “event,” Cohen said. Two or three days after the May 7 discussion, they also asked whether the approximately 70 rooms set aside for delegates were still available.

The hotel replied that the rooms were no longer available, telling organizers they had automatically been released one week before the meeting, according to Cohen. He said that explanation was never raised during the conversation with hotel management.

“Why would you hold a meeting seven days after the rooms had been canceled without mentioning them?” Cohen said. “To my mind, that excuse was a retrospective excuse.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told News Media, “If the reports from Dublin are accurate, this is a disgraceful example of the very antisemitism the conference was organized to combat.”

“Seventy rooms had been booked. Seventy people had been welcomed as guests,” Cohen said in an Oct. 13 address at Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. “The only thing that changed was what they were understood to be.”

The incident carried particular personal significance for Cohen, who said he had attended meetings, New Year’s Eve celebrations and his mother’s birthday celebrations at the hotel through her 93rd birthday.

ALSO READ: Albania Protests Turn Violent as Rioters Clash With Police

“How quickly does the word ‘Jewish’ change a conversation?” Cohen asked during his address.

The hotel dispute is the latest incident to fuel concerns among Jewish leaders about antisemitic discrimination in Ireland. The country has no official state system devoted to tracking antisemitic incidents, leaving community organizations to document cases and raising fears that many experiences are never formally reported.

Ireland’s Jewish community has about 2,200 members. During its first six-month reporting initiative, the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland recorded 143 self-reported antisemitic incidents, ranging from verbal abuse and threats to vandalism and discrimination. The council said the figures reflect only part of the problem because antisemitic incidents are frequently underreported.

Cohen said conditions for Ireland’s small Jewish community have worsened since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. He described the broader environment facing Jewish and Israeli people in Ireland as “ambient antisemitism.”

News Media sent questions to the Irish government asking whether it condemns the hotel’s reported actions and whether any review or investigation is being considered. The office of Prime Minister Micheál Martin, the government departments responsible for foreign affairs and justice, and the Irish Embassy in Washington, D.C., were contacted for comment. None had responded at the time of publication.

In an exclusive interview with News Media in September, Martin said, “We have no toleration for antisemitism, none.”

“It’s all around us,” Cohen told News Media. “If you say you’re Israeli, you may not get into certain places. The narrative is so one-sided.”

When News Media reached the Herbert Park Hotel directly by phone and asked about Cohen’s account, the decision to reject the event and the subsequent release of approximately 70 rooms, a hotel representative responded, “No comment.”

Cohen said the hotel’s management should speak directly with Jewish community representatives and receive training on contemporary antisemitism.

“They need training on what antisemitism is,” Cohen told News Media. “They need to be cognizant of the fact they are promoting antisemitism. They need to understand why they’re so wrong.”

Cohen said several Irish lawmakers and civil servants contacted him personally after his Oct. 13 address, though he had not seen a broader public condemnation from the Irish government.

“I, like most people, don’t want to be in a place where I’m not wanted,” Cohen said.

News Media also reached out to the owners of the hotel through its corporate entity but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

At 14, Danielle Ripley-Burgess noticed something that immediately seemed unusual: tiny traces of blood in her stool.

Now 42 and a mother of two, Danielle says she dismissed the symptom at the time, assuming she had eaten something red that had not been fully digested.

Like many teenagers, she felt too embarrassed to tell her parents. Instead, she decided to follow what she called a “no red foods diet.”

“I stopped eating anything red for several weeks. Pizza, strawberries, popsicles, Twizzlers — all of it,” she told the Daily Mail. “I thought that if I didn’t eat anything red, maybe I wouldn’t see red in my poop, and that would solve my issues.”

The change made no difference. Danielle continued to notice red flecks in her bowel movements, which were dark red in color — a warning sign that can indicate a serious problem, including colorectal cancer.

It took another three years before she finally told her mother, at 17, what was happening. She spoke up only after the bleeding began occurring more often.

At first, Danielle’s mother thought hemorrhoids might be responsible. These swollen veins in the anus or lower rectum can cause painless, bright red blood in the stool. But Danielle’s symptoms soon became more serious.

“[My stool] was dark red and sometimes black. I was embarrassed and afraid. I didn’t want to put my busy high school life on hold. I didn’t want to be a burden to my family, and I didn’t want to talk about my body,” she said.

Just weeks after her birthday in January 2001, Danielle was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. It marked the beginning of a 25-year battle during which she would survive the disease three times.

Following her first diagnosis, Danielle underwent chemotherapy, radiation treatment and surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her colon.

She also underwent an oophoropexy, a procedure that temporarily moves the ovaries into the abdomen to protect them from radiation and preserve their ability to produce hormones.

After completing treatment, Danielle was told she was in remission and returned to her everyday life. Her ovaries were later moved back to their original position. As a precaution, she began having colonoscopies every three years to monitor for signs that the cancer had returned.

During a checkup in June 2009, her doctor found something concerning: a polyp, or an abnormal cluster of cells, in her colon. A biopsy was ordered, and weeks later she was diagnosed with stage one colon cancer.

By then, at 25, she was married, owned a home and was making plans to adopt a child and start a family.

“I thought cancer was something from my past, and I had to reckon with it becoming part of my future,” she said. “I was scared, worried and angry. I didn’t understand why I was facing cancer again.”

Surgeons removed almost all of her colon, leaving approximately 13 inches. Once again, Danielle was told she was in remission, and doctors instructed her to undergo a colonoscopy every year.

Then, in 2023, at age 39, Danielle’s annual surveillance colonoscopy found more polyps. Her doctor explained that the findings appeared to indicate her colon cancer was returning for a third time.

It was then that Danielle decided to get a permanent ileostomy, a surgical procedure that allows stool to exit the body via the abdomen rather than the colon. This removed the remaining 13 inches of her colon.

Doctors sent the removed organ to pathology, where they tested it and found stage one colon cancer contained in only that tissue. 

Danielle is one of a growing number of young Americans who have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

KEEP READING: Trump and Melania’s Matchmaker Removed From Envoy Role, Report Says

Colorectal cancer risk increases with age, particularly after 50. However, cases are rising among younger adults, with one in five diagnoses now occurring in people under 55. The disease has also become a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among younger people. 

From 2013 to 2022, case rates increased by 2.9 percent per year among adults under 50. They also increased by 0.4 percent per year among those ages 50 to 64. 

While experts do not have a definitive explanation as to why cases are rising in young adults, studies suggest lifestyle factors such as poor diet and gut microbiome changes may be linked.

Researchers have found that many young-onset colorectal tumors feature a specific mutation linked to colibactin – a toxin produced by certain strains of the bacteria E. coli which normally reside in the lower intestines of humans.

But in Danielle’s case, she had an underlying condition that raised her risk of the disease. 

After she was diagnosed with colon cancer for a second time, doctors ordered genetic tests which revealed she had Lynch syndrome, a genetic condition caused by a fault in the genes responsible for repairing damaged DNA.  

An estimated one million Americans have the condition, which allows errors to build up in cells and increases the risk of several cancers, particularly colon and rectal cancers.

In particular, it has been shown to increase the chance of developing colon, pancreatic and uterine cancer. It causes about three to five percent of all colon cancers every year, the CDC says. The only way to be certain if you have the gene is to get a test. 

Lynch syndrome is typically hereditary, meaning it is passed from parents to children. But occasionally the mutation emerges at random. In Danielle’s case, she is the first member of her family to be diagnosed with the condition. 

‘I’m the first and only one to carry the Lynch syndrome gene, which tends to be hereditary,’ she said.

Because Lynch syndrome also put her at higher risk of uterine and ovarian cancer, Danielle opted for a hysterectomy, a surgery that removes the uterus, to reduce her risk of developing further cancers.

Today, she is a mother of two adopted children, an author, inspirational speaker and communications consultant. Her husband of 20 years, who was her boyfriend at the time of her first diagnosis, has been ‘an anchor’ in her life. 

‘My parents and step-parents have also been an incredible support system – stepping in to help me in every way possible. I’ve got a close group of friends, some I’ve known since high school and others I’ve met along the way, who have prayed for me, sent meals, babysat, joined cancer walks, and more,’ she said.

‘I’d advise people to open up and let others in — don’t go through hard things alone,’ she added. 

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 158,850 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2026, including 108,860 cases of colon cancer and 49,990 cases of rectal cancer.

Several factors can increase the risk of colorectal cancer, including a diet high in processed and red meats. Excess weight, physical inactivity, long-term smoking and heavy alcohol consumption are also linked to an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer. 

Race and genetics can also influence risk. American Indian and Alaska Native people have the highest rates of colorectal cancer, while having a family history of the disease or colon polyps can further increase a person’s chances of developing it.

Long-term inflammatory bowel diseases, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, can also increase colorectal cancer risk by causing chronic inflammation in the colon.

Early symptoms include persistent diarrhea or constipation, blood in the stool, abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss, fatigue and low iron levels.

Treatment depends on the stage of the cancer. Early-stage disease is often treated with surgery, while more advanced cases may require a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.