Gold medal Olympic runner Matthew Centrowitz, who grew up in Arnold, says he was on a ride at an Australian theme park moments before four people were killed.
Two men and two women died while on the ride at Dreamworld, a park on Queensland state's Gold Coast, Queensland police officer Tod Reid told reporters.
Centrowitz, a former All-Metro runner at Broadneck High School and the gold medalist at 1,500 meters at the Rio Olympics, tweeted early Tuesday that he was on board the ride 15 minutes before emergency responders arrived.
Centrowitz went on to say his "thoughts and prayers go out to people and families involved."
The Thunder River Rapids ride whisks people in circular rafts along a fast-moving, man-made river. A malfunction caused two people to be ejected from their raft, while two others were caught inside the ride, said Gavin Fuller, an officer with the Queensland Ambulance Service. He did not know whether the two victims who were caught in the ride were trapped under water, or caught up in the machinery.
Park staffers administered first aid to the victims, but their injuries proved fatal, Fuller told reporters.
The victims were in their 30s and early 40s, he said.
Tribune wire services contributed to this article.