Boy, 10, seriously injured after falling from Illinois carnival ride
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A 10-year-old boy was airlifted to a hospital Sunday after he was thrown from an Illinois carnival ride, police said.
Though none of the boy's injuries were considered life-threatening, he was listed in critical condition on Monday, officials said. The boy needed surgery after falling from the Moby Dick ride at the Taste of Summer carnival in Antioch. He suffered multiple facial and jaw fractures and a significant injury to the bones in one leg.
The child "was flung from a carnival ride approximately 10-20 feet in the air," the boy's uncle wrote in a GoFundMe post.
"He's a strong kid," the uncle wrote. "He once broke his arm and pushed the bone back in, on his own because 'it didn't hurt.' Truly remarkable kid."
After the boy fell around 2:40 p.m. on Sunday, Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner issued an executive order to halt all rides at the carnival to ensure the safety of the community, police said.
The Illinois Department of Labor's Amusement Ride and Attraction Safety Division is investigating the incident. The ride involved in the accident, which was operated by All Around Amusement of Lockport, Illinois, was inspected this year and issued a permit to operate, according to police.
An inspector has already taken an initial look at the ride. A more thorough "bolt by bolt" inspection will be conducted before the ride is allowed to resume operations. Over the course of the next few months, investigators will determine if the incident happened because of mechanical failure, operator error or a combination of the two.
A separate investigation by the Antioch Police Department will determine if any criminally reckless or negligent acts may have been contributing factors in the incident, authorities said.
The incident marked the latest in a series of recent mishaps at amusement parks, festivals and carnivals worldwide. Earlier this month, eight roller coaster riders were stuck hanging upside down for about three hours at a Wisconsin festival and a theme park in North Carolina closed one of its roller coasters after a crack was found on a support beam.
Last month, a roller coaster train derailed in Sweden, killing one person and injuring nine others.
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