Antioch carnival shut down after child is thrown from ride
Antioch carnival shut down after boy falls from Moby Dick ride and is flown to hospital
A carnival in Antioch was shut down on Sunday after a boy fell from the "Moby Dick" ride. Another child who was on the ride said he was terrified that he would also fall out, and that the braces meant to secure riders were not safe. Kasey Chronis reports.
ANTIOCH, Illinois - A child was injured when he was thrown off a carnival ride in Antioch on Sunday.
Antioch police said that firefighters and officers responded to the "Taste of Antioch" carnival around 2:40 p.m.
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There, they found a 10-year-old child who "appeared to have been thrown from a carnival ride." The child was airlifted to the hospital. As of Sunday night, there were no available updates on the boy’s condition.
Elliott Johnson, who said he was on the same ride, recounted the terrifying experience.
"I saw maybe on the third time around, he almost did a dive, his hands were down and his legs were straight, off the ride and landed outside the entrance gate," he said.
The food and music fest's carnival was immediately shut down and an investigation was launched.
"Our detectives are on-scene, they’re working in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Labor. The Department of Labor is responsible for the regulatory actions of carnival rides," said Commander Charles Smith, Antioch Police Department.
Mayor Scott Gartner also responded to the scene.
"The safety of what happens here is first and foremost on our minds," said Mayor Scott Gartner. "I can’t imagine as a parent myself what they’re going through and if there’s anything we can do as a community to help those that witnessed this, we will do that."
Police on Sunday were interviewing ride-goers who went on the Moby Dick over the weekend – some, who tell FOX 32 Chicago that they are now questioning the precautions in place.
"We were sitting on the ride, and then they don't check our things, they just press the button and it goes down," said Madison Valentino.
Johnson said he, too, felt unsafe during the fateful ride.
"My bar was coming up over my head, so I was trying, every time I went up, because it was going up, and I was almost about to fall out, I would slam down to close it so that way I would not fall out," said Johnson.
Antioch police were on-scene until around 8 p.m. Sunday. Carnival crews then started dismantling and packing up the rides.