YORK COUNTY, S.C. -- Five days before opening, Carowinds is usually busy with menial work -- lots of painting and last-minute tweaks. But this year's preps include a state investigation into a ride malfunction that sent seven employees to the hospital over the weekend.

Employees were riding the Borg Assimilator on the 51st test run of the day, when, according to park officials, the seats shifted into the upright position during the ride when they should have been laying flat. The workers only suffered bumps and bruises from being jostled.

Carowinds officials say they now know how it happened, but they will make 100 percent sure they are correct before saying the cause.

"Before we go out and we tell folks, 'Hey, we know what happened; we've fixed this problem,' we want to be absolutely sure that we've got it," said Scott Anderson of Carowinds.

Anderson said riders were never in danger because the problem was not with restraints or safety gear.

In the days before the season opens, every attraction in the park is tested and evaluated repeatedly.

"All of them go through what we call a 'rebuild,' where (workers) take them down, every part is looked at, inspected and (then put back together), and then once we open, it continues," Anderson said.

Officials don't know whether the Borg Assimilator will open Saturday with the rest of the park. Carowinds is waiting for an inspector from the South Carolina Office of Elevators and Amusement Rides, a division of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, to check out the ride.

Carowinds officials said their rides go through a multi-step inspection each day before the park opens. They are also reviewed by state inspectors just before the season begins.

Because the park straddles the state line, state agencies from both Carolinas are involved.

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