but when 29-year-old sergeant james hackemer came home in 2008, he lost both his legs in roadside bomb attack. this chance to come home has been a miracle. reporter: he had been working to rebuild his life as a son, husband and father of two. his family was profiled by nbc s buffalo affiliate wgrz shortly after he was injured. he loved life. he really loved his family. reporter: following years of rehabilitation, hammer went friday to the dereon lake amusement park about 30 miles outside buffalo with friends and family. he wanted to try the ride of steel and climbed into the front seat. the roller coaster reaches a feet of 208 feet and speeds topping 70 miles per hour. after coming off one of the steep, sharp hills, hack merp was thrown from the ride. as far as we know there was nothing mechanicalwise that would have caused the accident.