Nearly a dozen people reported being injured in the last five years while riding the Texas roller coaster where a woman fell to her death last week, though the most serious injuries appear to be a concussion and muscles strains due to jostling, state records show. 
 
 The Texas Giant roller coaster ride sits idle in the foreground as people take in another ride a the Six Flags Over Texas park Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. Investigators will try to determine... (Associated Press) 
 
 The Texas Giant roller coaster ride sits idle in the background as people take in another roller coaster ride at the Six Flags Over Texas park Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Arlington, Texas. Investigators... (Associated Press) 
 
 Six Flags Over Texas reported 14 injuries involving the Texas Giant roller coaster between April 2008 and April 2013, according to Texas Department of Insurance records. Three happened before or after the ride, such as tripping on the steps leading to the ride. 
 
 Department spokesman Jerry Hagins said the ride was currently closed and wouldn't reopen until the department sees a new safety inspection report. 
 
 Amusement park safety analyst Ken Martin noted that such injuries are self-reported, so it's hard to gauge their accuracy. He also said such numbers don't include "near-misses." 
 
 "The numbers that we hear about are typically the tip of the iceberg," he said. 
 
 Rosa Ayala-Goana fell while riding the roller coaster Friday at the Six Flags amusement park. A witness told local media that Ayala-Goana expressed concern moments before the 14-story ride began that the safety bar had not completely engaged. 
 
 The Tarrant County medical examiner's office confirmed Monday that the 52-year-old suffered "multiple traumatic injuries" in the fall. 
 
 A man who identified himself as Ayala-Goana's son declined comment. 
 
 Walter Reiss, an amusement park ride safety inspector, said fatal accidents on roller coasters "are very unusual and infrequent." He added, "Most times that you have death accidents, it was something either ignorant or human error." 
 
 Six Flags Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Jim Reid-Anderson said the company was using "both internal and external experts" to investigate the accident, but he offered no details during a conference call to discuss the company's earnings. 
 
 In an email to The Associated Press, Six Flags spokeswoman Sharon Parker said the company "will not release any details pertaining to the investigation until it is complete." 
 
 The Texas Giant first opened in 1990 as an all-wooden coaster but underwent a $10 million renovation in 2010 to install steel-hybrid rails before reopening in 2011. The coaster, which can carry as many as 24 riders, has a drop of 79 degrees and a bank of 95 degrees. 
 
 Reiss speculated that either Ayala-Goana managed to slip out from behind a locked mechanism or that the harness mechanism failed and it opened. 
 
 "At the end of the day, it comes down to whether or not the person fits," he added. "If the harness locks normally, without forcing it, it's OK. And the final say is up to the ride operator to tell you, `I'm sorry, you can't ride.'" 
 
 The roller coaster was issued its most recent safety permit in February and was in compliance with state regulations that require an annual inspection by a qualified engineer, according to state records. 
 
 The Dallas Morning News has reported that officials with the roller coaster's German-based car manufacturer, Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, were set to come to inspect the ride. The company could not be reached late Monday by phone, and an email was not immediately returned. 
 
 Don Hankins, who inspected the roller coaster in February, did not return a call to The Associated Press. 
 
 Meanwhile, Six Flags has temporarily closed the Iron Rattler roller coaster at its Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Park spokeswoman Sydne Purvis said it's a precautionary move until the Texas Giant investigation is completed. Both roller coasters are wooden structures with steel rails. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Betsy Blaney in Lubbock and Uriel J. Garcia and Nomaan Merchant in Dallas contributed to this report. ||||| [Editor’s note: This item has been updated since it was originally posted to address the question concerning the victim’s last name.] 
 
 The Tarrant County Medical Examiner says the woman thrown from The Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas Friday night died of “multiple traumatic injuries due to [a] fall from roller coaster.” 
 
 Her time of death is listed as 7 p.m. And the coroner officially lists the manner of death as “accident.” 
 
 The coroner names the 52-year-old Dallas woman as Rosa Ayala-Goana. Her family told our reporters that her name was Rosy Esparza. The Tarrant County ME’s office has confirmed that her husband’s last name is Esparza. 
 
 She turned 52 on June 28. 
 
 As we reported, the Texas Giant will remain closed until Six Flags finishes its investigation, which could last months. Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, the German firm that manufactured the Giant’s cars, is sending investigators to Arlington this week to assist with the inquiry. Arlington police will leave the investigation to Six Flags and Gerstlauer officials. 
 
 Six Flags’ Chairman Jim Reid-Anderson said Monday morning the amusement park operator will have no further comment on the incident until after Six Flags and Gerstlauer’s investigations are finished. 
 
 Said Reid-Anderson in a morning conference call with analysts, “We’ve been here throughout the weekend to support our team as we work through this tragic event. Utilizing both internal and external experts we are investigating the cause of the accident, and until that process is complete with have no additional information to share with you about the incident. The ride has been closed. And you can rest assured that it will remain closed until we are certain that it is safe to ride. 
 
 “Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family and we are providing them support as best as we can. We ask that you keep the guest’s family in your prayers.” ||||| The public is no closer to knowing what caused a Dallas mother’s fatal fall from the Texas Giant roller coaster Friday night in Arlington. When answers do arrive, they will almost certainly come from Six Flags Over Texas via its legal and public relations team rather than an independent investigator. 
 
 Both the Arlington police and fire departments were called to the scene. But neither is expected to conduct long, intensive investigations because Rosy Esparza’s death was believed to be an accident. 
 
 The state regulator is on the case, but the Texas Department of Insurance’s primary duty is ensuring the rides have insurance and are inspected. That’s not an issue in this case. 
 
 Six Flags officials initially said they were “working with authorities” to determine the cause of the fatality. Later, they acknowledged that this is an internal investigation into only the second customer to die on a ride since the park opened in 1961. 
 
 Kenneth Martin, a roller coaster inspector and accident investigator often hired by lawyers and manufacturers, said there is no Texas agency responsible for accident investigations. And police tend to not pursue deaths and serious injuries without evidence of a crime. 
 
 “In all likelihood do you think Six Flags is going to come out and say ‘we screwed up,’” he said. “Probably not.” 
 
 He said the lack of governmental oversight may mean the factors contributing to the woman’s death remain unknown. 
 
 Those determining the cause will likely be Six Flags staff, its insurance company, an inspector hired by the park or insurance company, and the German firm that manufactured the cars. With a lawsuit against Six Flags likely, it’s not certain how much information will be made public soon. 
 
 In a written statement, a Six Flags spokeswoman said that it was too early to comment in detail on the cause. 
 
 “We are committed to determining the cause of this tragic accident and will utilize every resource throughout this process,” wrote Sharon Parker, a park spokeswoman. “It would be a disservice to the family to speculate regarding what transpired. When we have new information to provide, we will do so. Our thoughts, prayers and full support remain with the family.” 
 
 Several of Esparza’s family members declined to comment. At least one family member said they had hired an attorney. 
 
 Ride closed 
 
 Arlington police responded to a 911 call at the park about 6:30 p.m. Officers helped “gather preliminary details, interview witnesses and rule out foul play,” said Sgt. Christopher Cook, a department spokesman. 
 
 He said a report on their death investigation would not be available earlier than Monday. There is no criminal investigation. 
 
 Parker said the ride would remain closed until Six Flags’ internal investigation is complete. 
 
 Jerry Hagins, state Department of Insurance spokesman, said the ride can’t legally reopen until it is re-inspected and proof of that is provided to the state. 
 
 Witnesses reported that Esparza fell from one of the roller coaster’s cars as it rounded a turn Friday evening. 
 
 One witness, Carmen Brown of Arlington, said Esparza was concerned that her safety restraint was not properly secured. Brown said a Six Flags worker assured the victim that she was fine. 
 
 “She was nervous and panicking,” Brown said. 
 
 The witness. however. mentioned concerns about the number of times the safety bar clicked when it was lowered. But a representative of the manufacturer said there would be no clicking sound in the hydraulically operated mechanism. 
 
 “We have to investigate what has happened there,” said Tobias Lindnar, project manager for Gerstlauer Amusement Rides. “I’m sure there’s no safety bar that is broken.” 
 
 He said the 30-year-old ride manufacturer based in Münsterhausen, Germany has never had problems with the safety bars in its cars. The firm has built about 50 roller coasters throughout the world. No one was ever seriously injured or killed on one until Friday, Lindnar said. 
 
 Lindnar said from Germany late Saturday that he didn’t want to speak about how a hydraulic bar would operate or whether or not employees at the park should be able to gauge whether a person’s body is too close to the front of the train car to prevent the bar from being effective enough. 
 
 “At this time I don’t want to speak about the technicals,” he said. “It’s not so easy. It’s some special equipment.” 
 
 He said once the ride begins, there’s no chance of opening the safety bar. 
 
 “Next week we will be on site and we will see what has happened,” he said. 
 
 Safety bars 
 
 Eventually, there should be a ruling about whether there was a mechanical failure or whether Esparza was not secured properly in the car. There could be other scenarios. 
 
 Martin, the ride investigator, said roller coasters have one-size-fits-all safety bars, generally designed for someone who weighs 180 pounds. 
 
 He said most parks rely on the manufacturer’s information to determine how far from the starting position a safety bar should be in relation to a person’s weight in order to be effective. 
 
 Park employees should be trained to determine whether a safety bar is in a safe position in relation to a person’s body weight, Martin said. 
 
 It’s not known if the Six Flags employee who checked the safety restraint of Esparza, who was a large woman, took that into account. 
 
 Martin said determining someone’s weight is difficult. 
 
 Before Friday, few injuries on the newly reconstructed Texas Giant had been reported to the state. The state Department of Insurance showed four injuries since the ride reopened in 2011. 
 
 The $10 million project transformed it from a wooden roller coaster into a wooden-steel hybrid coaster. It was named the Best New Ride of 2011 by an industry group. 
 
 Overall, the park reported 110 injuries to the state since the start of the 2008 season. These reports, however, are submitted by the ride operators with little outside scrutiny. 
 
 Nationally, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions published a report in March that said in 2011, 4.3 in 1 million people who visited a park or attraction sustained an injury on a ride. The numbers were based on a survey of parks that self-reported injuries on their properties. 
 
 “Events like this are extremely rare, and safety is the No. 1 priority for the amusement park industry,” association spokeswoman Colleen Mangone said Saturday. 
 
 The data did not tabulate deaths. 
 
 The only other death of a guest on a Six Flags Over Texas ride occurred in 1999 when a Roaring Rapids raft capsized. Valeria Cartwright of West Helena, Ark., drowned and 10 others were injured. 
 
 Staff Writer Tanya Eiserer contributed to this report. 
 
 tg.infographic
– Injury, it seems, is nothing new on and around the Six Flags roller coaster where a woman died last week. Between April 2008 and April 2013, the park reported 14 injuries tied to the Texas Giant, though three occurred before or after patrons rode it, the AP reports. The gravest injuries were apparently concussions and strained muscles—but with the park reporting the data itself, "The numbers that we hear about are typically the tip of the iceberg," says a safety analyst. And while fatal roller coaster accidents are rare, "Most times that you have death accidents, it was something either ignorant or human error," adds a safety inspector for amusement parks. Meanwhile, the coroner says Friday's victim received "multiple traumatic injuries" in her fall, the Dallas Morning News reports. Her name, officials say, was Rosa Ayala-Goana, not Rosy Esparza, as her family had said; Esparza is her husband's last name. Amid word that there may have been a problem with her harness, the inspector notes: "At the end of the day, it comes down to whether or not the person fits ... If the harness locks normally, without forcing it, it's OK. And the final say is up to the ride operator to tell you, 'I'm sorry, you can't ride.'"