Iraq Veteran Dies In Theme Park Accident

A US army veteran who lost his legs while serving in Iraq has died after been thrown from a rollercoaster.

Sgt James Thomas Hackemer died after the accident on the Ride of Steel attraction at the Darien Lake theme park in upstate New York.

The park's website says the ride climbs more than 200ft in the air and reaches speeds of 70mph.

The 29-year-old lost his right leg below his knee and his left leg below his hip after he was hit by a roadside bomb in 2008.

His mother told reporters he had recently received a set of prosthetic legs from the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington.

She told The Buffalo News he had been assisted onto the ride and he "was doing what he wanted to do".

"It's going to help a little bit that he was happy," Nancy Hackemer said.

"We shouldn't have had him for these last three years and four months."

The rollercoaster has been closed to the public while authorities and the park carry out a safety inspection.

A statement on the park's website said they were "deeply saddened" by the incident.