SANDUSKY, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Agriculture said on Monday that an L-shaped bracket — approximately the size of an adult male’s hand — struck a 44-year-old Michigan woman standing in the queue line of the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster on Aug. 15. 

David Miran, chief of amusement ride safety for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said that the Top Thrill Dragster was likely moving at full speed during the incident. Miran added, however, that inspectors have been unable to determine exactly when the bracket became dislodged from the ride and how far it traveled. 

Miran also was unable to provide an update on the woman’s condition. The woman was taken by ambulance to Firelands Regional Medical Center, and then transferred to St. Vincent's Hospital in Toledo.

“The day of the event, the ride inspector verbally issued a stop operation order on the ride and placed a lock on it,” Miran said. “ODA inspected the track and all trains on the ride.”

Miran said the L-shaped bracket is known as a “flag plate,” and is used to communicate to the ride’s operating system that the train is through a portion of the track. 

“In ODA’s inspection, it discovered that the green train was missing the plate on the left side of the train body,” Miran added. “Half of the bolts that secured the plate to the train body were still in place. The track on which the train returns near the finish line, what is known as the brake bracket area, shows signs of impact and deformation.” 

Miran said that several horizontal track beams showed signs of impact within 25 feet of the damaged bracket. 

The ride was last inspected by Ohio Department of Agriculture inspectors in May. The ride was inspected by four members of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. 

According to an Ohio Department of Agriculture spokesperson, the ride was due for a second of two yearly inspections in September. 

Miran said he did not believe the issue with the plate was missed by inspectors. He added that the train has been sent to a lab for further examination. 

On Friday, Cedar Point announced that the ride would remain closed for the rest of the year.

“We want to fully understand what happened and why,” Cedar Point said in a statement. “Together with the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture's Division of Amusement Ride Safety & Fairs, third party investigators, engineers and the ride's manufacturer, we are being careful, methodical and thorough. We will not rush the investigation and will work tirelessly in our search for answers in the interest of improving safety.”