A 10-year-old boy was critically injured after falling from a carnival ride in Illinois, setting off an investigation by local police and state officials.
The boy was attending the Taste of Summer Festival in Antioch on Sunday afternoon when he was thrown from the Moby Dick ride around 2:40 p.m., the Village of Antioch Police Department said in a statement.
He suffered multiple facial and jaw fractures and a significant injury to his leg, police said. While critical, the injuries aren’t life-threatening, police added.
The boy was flown to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge before being transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where he underwent surgery, the statement said.
Antioch is on the Illinois-Wisconsin border, about 55 miles northwest of Chicago.
Shortly after the fall, Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner issued an executive order to halt all rides at the festival, police said.
Officers immediately secured the ride “to ensure no tampering occurred,” and requested an investigator from the Illinois Department of Labor come to the scene, the statement said.
The department’s Amusement Ride and Attraction Safety Division is responsible for the inspection and permitting of public rides in the state, according to its website.
“The ride involved in the incident, which was operated by All Around Amusement of Lockport, Illinois, was inspected this year and was issued a permit to operate,” the police statement said, citing the labor department’s website.
CNN has reached out to All Around Amusement for comment.
The labor department issued a “Stop Order” for the Moby Dick ride, prohibiting further operation until a comprehensive, “bolt by bolt” inspection is conducted, police said.
“The ILDOL will conduct an independent investigation to determine if the incident resulted from mechanical failure, operator error, or a combination thereof. This investigation and release of its findings are expected to take several months,” the statement said.
Antioch police are also investigating whether any criminally reckless or negligent acts contributed to the incident.
The Antioch Chamber of Commerce plans and organizes the Taste of Summer Festival and is responsible for choosing the rider operator, police said. In addition to carnival rides, the festival featured a musical light show, sidewalk sales and food from local restaurants, the chamber’s website said. It was set to run July 13-16.
“We plan to work with the Chamber of Commerce to identify exactly what led to this horrible accident and what we can do to work together to ensure nothing like this will happen again in our community,” Gartner, the mayor, said.
