Authorities: Antioch police seize carnival ride that threw boy to the ground Sunday
Antioch police have seized the carnival ride that threw a 10-year-old boy to the ground Sunday at the Taste of Antioch festival, authorities announced Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Labor finished its inspection of the “Moby Dick” ride, which is owned and operated by Lockport-based All Around Amusement of Lockport, the news release said. Police then obtained a warrant to take possession of the ride, which had been in Shorewood.
“The outcome of this week's inspections of the ride necessitated us to immediately secure it as evidence as part of the criminal investigation,” Police Chief Geoffrey Guttschow said in the news release.
Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed unsafe actions by carnival workers or equipment during the festival to email crime@antioch.il.gov.
The 10-year-old boy who was thrown from the ride suffered multiple injuries to his jaw, face and one leg but is expected to survive.
The boy, identified by a family member as Huntley, was airlifted first to Advocate Lutheran General in Park Ridge and then to Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, where he had surgery, according to a news release from Antioch officials on Monday.
Uncle Robert Pohlman, who said Huntley fell from about 10 to 20 feet, started a GoFundMe campaign for his nephew that had raised nearly $36,000 as of Wednesday night.
“My sister and his father will be out of work for a time that will make paying for the unknown amount of surgery my nephew will need, almost impossible,” Pohlman wrote on the website.
• Daily Herald staff writer Doug T. Graham contributed to this report.