Spokeswoman for the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety, Mary Beth Eslary, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the child was conscious when the medics arrived. Jeff Croushore, a spokesman for the theme park, announced the victim was “talking and alert with his family” at an afternoon news conference.
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“Its two trains carry riders up and down along a wooded hillside then turn around in a swooping curve and return to the station”, the park website says.
Officials say the little boy was riding the Rollo Coaster, which does not include seat belts.
The rollercoaster has been closed pending an inspection and investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, along with local agencies. His age wasn’t released. “To be able to ride the Rollo Coaster, a passenger must be at least 36” tall.
Idlewild is home to mostly child-friendly rides as well as some attractions with minimum height restrictions.
Croushore said that rides at the park are inspected daily.
The next day, three girls were injured when they were thrown from a Ferris Wheel at a county fair in Greeneville, Tennessee.
“Our thoughts are with the child involved in this incident”, spokesman Logan Hall said.
SO scary! The incident occurred at the Idlewild and SoakZone amusement park and marks the nation’s 4th amusement park accident in 5 days! A study conducted by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2013 found that between 1990 to 2010, there were 92,885 children under 18 years old treated in emergency rooms across the USA for amusement park-related injuries.
Thursday’s incident came just days after a 10-year-old boy was killed at an amusement park in Kansas City, Kansas. Meanwhile, the rest of the amusement park remains open.
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Head and neck injuries were the most common at 28 percent, with 1.5 percent of the injuries requiring hospitalization, the study said. “The Rollo Coaster has been named a Classic Coaster by the American Coaster Enthusiasts”.
