Antioch festival’s carnival shut down after child thrown from ride, police say
The carnival at Antioch’s Taste of Summer festival was closed Sunday after a child was thrown from a ride and injured, police said.
A 10-year-old boy was airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge after Antioch Police and Fire departments responded to calls about the injury around 2:40 p.m., the police wrote in a news release.
The boy suffered multiple facial and jaw fractures and a significant injury to the bones in one leg, police said. Because of his injuries, he was airlifted Sunday night to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago in critical condition. As of Monday morning, police said he was in stable condition and undergoing surgery.
After the injury, Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner ordered the remainder of the festival’s rides shut down, according to the release.
“The closure of the rides will ensure safety for our community and allow officials to review safety of each ride,” police wrote.
The Antioch Chamber of Commerce-hosted festival has brought people to the far north suburb for three decades with food, live music and carnival rides. Chicago-based rock band 7th Heaven was scheduled to perform Sunday evening, according to the festival website.
Police said the chamber plans and organizes the event, including choosing the ride operator.
The Illinois Department of Labor, responsible for ensuring the safety of carnival rides, is investigating the incident, the Police Department wrote. The department will conduct a “bolt by bolt” inspection of the ride, called Moby Dick, before allowing it to resume operation elsewhere.
The Police Department is also conducting its own investigation to determine if any criminally reckless or negligent acts may have contributed to the fall.
A GoFundMe page for the boy was started by his uncle, Robert Pohlman, who said he’s a “strong” and “remarkable” kid. According to the fundraiser page, the 10-year-old was flung approximately 10 to 20 feet in the air.
“He once broke his arm and pushed the bone back in, on his own because ‘it didn’t hurt,’” the page states. “Truly remarkable kid.”
