A child was airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital Thursday after falling from a roller coaster at a western Pennsylvania amusement park, Westmoreland County officials said.
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WTAE A child reportedly fell off a roller coaster at Idlewild and SoakZone, according to Westmoreland County emergency dispatchers, August 11, 2016.
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture reiterated that the amusement park’s rides are inspected every day by someone certified with the state, and reports on inspections are due to the state every 30 days.
The Rollo Coaster – named a “Classic Coaster” by the American Coaster Enthusiasts – is considered tame by today’s standards.
“Our thoughts and concerns are with the injured boy and his family”, the park said in a statement.
Idlewild and Soak Zone tweeted just 16 minutes ago confirming that the child, a boy, did fall off the Rollo Coaster.
Croushore said the incident occurred in the middle section of the ride, but could not say how the boy fell.
The condition of the child involved in Thursday’s accident is unknown and the cause of the mishap is not yet apparent. The 3-year-old was riding the Rollo Coaster with his brother when he fell off, Croushore said. Riders must to be at least 3 feet tall to get on Rollo, and anyone shorter than 48 inches has to ride with an adult.
Another child has been injured on a roller coaster, making this the fourth theme park accident in the last five days, according to CNN. He could not confirm the extent of the child’s injuries or his age.
Safety experts like Ken Martin have called for stricter federal regulations for amusement parks, specifically citing that attempts to create more exciting rides could also be amplifying danger.
The Kansas water slide passed inspection two months ago, according to state records.
The incident is at least the fourth one this week on U.S. rides.
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On Wednesday the Schlitterbahn Waterpark reopened but the slide is not longer part of the rides options for the public, and it will be closed for the rest of the season.
