ANTIOCH, Ill. — A 10-year-old child was thrown from a carnival ride on Sunday in Antioch, according to police.
Around 2:40 p.m., police said the child was thrown from a ride at the Taste of Antioch festival.
The child was airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Their condition hasn’t been released.
Another kid who was on the ride said the bar for his seat on the Moby Dick ride was coming over his head several times and he had to resecure it.
“My bar was coming up over my head, so 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,” Elliott Johnson said. “Then as soon as it started slowing down and it was about maybe rocking on the floor, I was able to push it up and slide out.”
Johnson said he then ran to find help for the child.
Mayor Scott Gartner used his executive authority to close the rides while a safety review of each ride is completed, according to the police department.
“We are always trying to make sure these are safe fun family events and our thoughts and prayers go out to the child that fell and his family,” Gartner said. “I have two young daughters myself. It hit close to home and we have to make sure something like this never happens again and the child is ok.”
The Illinois Department of Labor and Antioch police and fire departments are investigating the incident.
A GoFundMe has been created to help pay for the child’s medical expenses.
