Six Flags Great America ride sends 4 to hospital

Three children and a woman were taken to a hospital after being jolted on a ride Thursday afternoon at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, authorities said.

Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Heraver said the incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. on the Orbit ride. He said no one was seriously injured.

"As the Orbit was coming to a stop, they described it as a little bit of a sudden stop," Heraver said.

Heraver said the 34-year-old Chicago woman and the children -- a boy and girl, both 10, and an 8-year-old girl -- went to a first-aid station before paramedics arrived.

All four park guests were taken for treatment at Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. Heraver said two of the children belonged to the woman and that the 10-year-old boy was a family friend.

"They had a little bit of neck pain, back pain, that type of thing," Heraver said.

Authorities said Great America employees checked the Orbit and didn't find any mechanical problems.

Great America spokeswoman Brooke Gabbert said the ride was reopened for the rest of the day after the inspection.

"It's operating normally," Gabbert said. "And we've had no other complaints from people today."

Located in the Hometown Square section in the middle of Great America, the Orbit is a flat ride that spins. It also rises and flips riders.