Student Wins $69,000 After Rival Sparks ‘Train Rage’

A Wheel of Fortune contestant could have won the game if she hadn’t made a costly mistake which sparked “train rage” among fans. Her opponent went on to win a car in a prize bundle totaling more than $69,000.

Josh Bryan, from Palmetto, Florida, solved the first toss-up. The realtor played against Rica Kilpatrick-Ray, from Line Lexington, Pennsylvania, and Ranjan Mahanth, from Newark, Delaware.

Mahanth, a PhD student who reads birth charts, solved the second toss-up. He put $12,840 in his bank when he solved “Yogurt-Covered Raisins.” He picked up the America 250 Coca-Cola wedge, which was a trip to Atlanta, Georgia.

Bryan had a lot of the “Before & After” puzzle solved. He landed on the Mystery Wedge and decided to pick it up, but it had Bankrupt on the other side, so he lost all of his money. Mahanth expanded his lead when he solved “The Sixth Sense of Humor.” He had $15,040.

During the next puzzle, Kilpatrick-Ray, a vegetarian who cooks on the grill for all of her events, decided not to ride the Express Train. However, only two letters later, she decided to solve. Kilpatrick-Ray correctly solved “You’ll Get a Kick Out Of It.”

“That was nice restraint not riding the train,” host Ryan Seacrest said. She won a trip to Montana and Glacier National Park, giving her $14,806. However, if Kilpatrick-Ray had ridden the train she would have been in the lead.

Reddit fans reacted to her not doing it. “RIDE THE TRAIN!” one fan said.

“I came here for the Train outrage. She could have bought all the vowels, and she solved it seconds later. She might have gone to the bonus round had she ridden the train,” a fan replied.

“Train rage! It’s worse than road rage and seems to be an almost daily occurrence here. I was screaming at the tv!! Hahah,” a third added.

Mahanth added to his lead by solving two triple toss-ups. Bryan solved the third.

Mahanth added $9,000 to his total when he solved “That Itchy Sweater.” This gave him a total of $28,040. He advanced to the Bonus Round.

Kilpatrick-Ray took home $14,806. Bryan went home with $3,000.

Mahanth chose “Event” for his category. He brought his twin brother and his mom with him.

Wheel of Fortune gave him “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” The game show contestant picked “P,F,C, and A.”

The puzzle looked like “_P_LENT   AFFA_R.” Mahanth solved “Opulent Affair” for the Jeep Wrangler. The car was worth $41,010, so he went home with a total of $69,050.