Huntley Daniels, a 10-year-old boy, was left with serious injuries after he was forcibly ejected from a carnival ride called Moby Dick in Illinois during the Taste of Summer Festival over the weekend.
He sustained multiple broken bones, a cracked skull, a broken jaw, and teeth pushed into his gums upon impact. His grandmother Dawne Pohlman was in shock, saying, “You never think it would happen to you. You think, ‘Oh, this is just fun – this is what we do.’ But then it happens.” The boy was airlifted to a hospital and later had surgery at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital.
Mayor Scott Gartner shut down all rides after the incident occurred and police and state regulators are investigating if any negligence or recklessness caused the accident. According to operations commander Charles Smith from the Antioch Police Department, “The carnival was packed, and so a lot of people experienced seeing it.
It’s a traumatic event for our community.” Erin Maloney, who was waiting to ride Moby Dick with her son, saw Daniels on the ground, not moving. She said, “I turned and I hear a woman screaming. And my son said, ‘Mom, look.’ I turned around and this little boy was just on the pavement, not moving not responsive.”