Huntley Daniels (upper left) was critically injured after he was thrown from the Moby Dick ride at a summer festival in Illinois (Pictures: NBC Chicago; TikTok)
A 10-year-old boy was critically injured after being thrown from a carnival ride at a festival in Illinois.
The terrifying incident happened on Sunday at the Taste of Summer carnival in Antioch, a Chicago-area suburb located on the Illinois-Wisconsin border.
The victim was riding the festival’s Moby Dick ride, which appears to swing passengers back and forth several feet above the ground.
The victim was identified by police as a a 10-year-old boy who suffered multiple facial and jaw fractures, as well as ‘significant’ injuries to one of his legs. He was rushed to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, then flown by medevac to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago due to the extent of his injuries.
The Moby Dick ride at the Taste of Summer festival in Antioch (Picture: TikTok)
Family members identified the injured child as Huntley Daniels, of TKTKTK. They have set up a GoFundMe campaign for Daniels, who they said was ‘flung’ about 10-20 feet into the air from the ride.
‘He’s a strong kid,’ Daniels’ uncle wrote in a post on the crowdfunding site. ‘He once broke his arm and pushed the bone back in, on his own because “it didn’t hurt”. Truly remarkable kid.’
Antioch Police immediately secured the ride to prevent any further ‘tampering,’ the department said in a news release.
The Illinois Department of Labor is responsible for annually inspecting carnival rides in the state. If they do not pass their inspection, they are not allowed to operate or be insured in the state’s borders.
An inspector from the Department of Labor was sent, who quickly issued a stop order for the attraction. The department is currently investigating the ride ‘bolt by bolt,’ authorities said.
Police are currently conducting an investigation alongside the State Attorney’s office into any criminal wrongdoing at the festival.
Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner later issued an executive order to halt all rides at the festival after the incident.
Huntley Daniels suffered multiple facial and jaw fractures, as well as ‘significant’ injuries to one of his legs.
