A child was airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital Thursday after falling from a ride at a western Pennsylvania amusement park, Westmoreland County officials said.
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The Rollo Coaster is a 78-year-old wooden ride that is 40-feet high at the highest point and moves riders along between 10 and 25 miles an hour, park spokesman Jeff Croushore said.
The coaster transports riders “up and down along a wooded hillside” and swooping curves, according to the Idlewild website. According to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4, the cars on the coaster don’t require seat belts.
Another child occurred brain damage after he and two companions fell off a Ferris wheel in Tennessee, while a 10-year-old boy died of injuries after going on a Kansas water slide, USA Today reports.
The incident happened around noon at Idlewild Park and SoakZone in Ligonier, about an hour southeast of Pittsburgh. The child, according to Trib Live, was riding on the Rollo Coaster, the park’s first coaster built in 1938.
The director of the Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards for Idlewild, Walter Remmert, said an inspector was at the park during the incident conducting a standard inspection.
There have been several accidents at amusement rides across the nation this week. The child’s medical condition wasn’t immediately released.
The state Department of Agriculture, which regulates amusement park rides, said the Rollo Coaster had passed inspection Saturday by a private certified inspector.
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As for previous incidents at the park, Channel 11 News uncovered that a lawsuit was filed against Idlewild after a woman claimed she was hurt on the Wild Mouse roller coaster in 2009. “The Rollo Coaster has been named a Classic Coaster by the American Coaster Enthusiasts”. The victim is believed to be three years old. Meanwhile, the rest of the amusement park remains open.
