17 July 2023 , 16:50
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A 10-year-old boy was thrown from his seat and seriously injured after a carnival ride threw him into their air, authorities said.
Carnival rides were shut down at the Illinois community festival after the terrifying ordeal, which left the boy in a critical condition in hospital on Sunday.
The boy was riding Moby Dick, which locks people in at the shoulders and then goes up and down ast an increasing speed. The Antioch Fire Department received a call at about 2.40pm Sunday of a child who had been hurt in a carnival ride.
The boy was thrown as the ride was moving at Antioch's Taste of Summer, 60 miles (96.5 kilometers) northwest of Chicago, near the Wisconsin border.
Antioch officials said the child was not properly fastened into the Moby Dick carnival ride (CBS News)"The carnival was packed, and so a lot of people experienced seeing it," said Charles Smith, operations commander at the Antioch police department. "It's a traumatic event for our community."
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Witnesses said said the 10-year-old was thrown from the ride while it was in motion after he was not properly fastened.
Erin Maloney said she was waiting with her son to ride Moby Dick. "I turned and I hear a woman screaming," she said. "And my son said, `Mom, look.' I turned around and this little boy was just on the pavement, not moving not responsive."
The boy was in critical condition when taken to a hospital, WLS-TV reported, though his condition today (Monday 17 July) wasn't immediately known.
The Antioch Fire Department received a call about the incident (CBS News)Mayor Scott Gartner shut down rides at Taste of Antioch after the boy was injured. Antioch police said they are now investigating alongside the Illinois Department of Labor to inspect all the rides for any safety issues.
There have been other incidents on summer rides this year. On July 2, eight people were trapped upside down on a roller coaster at a festival in Crandon, Wisconsin.
A large crack was discovered in the support column of Fury 325, a towering roller coaster at Carowinds, an amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 30.