A boy was taken to the hospital after he was hanging by his neck in a rope ladder at an indoor amusement park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. NBC10’s Brian Sheehan spoke with a witness.
A boy was taken to the hospital after he was hanging by his neck in a rope ladder at an indoor amusement park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
The incident occurred around 1:40 p.m. Saturday at the Thrillz High Flying Adventure Park on 555 South Henderson Road.
The 8-year-old boy was climbing on a rope ladder when he became entangled in the rope and began hanging by his neck, Upper Merion Police told NBC10. Lisa Cannon, the owner of Thrillz, said in a statement that surveillance video showed the child climbing headfirst down the rope ladder.
“After our investigation and reviewing camera footage of today’s incident, we can say that the boy was seen climbing headfirst down a rope ladder and became tangled," Cannon wrote.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
Elizabeth O'Reilly, who was at the park with her son and nephew, described the scary scene.
"Initially, I heard a lot of screaming and shouting from the employees. They were screaming at everybody to just evacuate, get out of the building. And it was very confusing," O'Reilly said. "When I actually saw him he was completely entangled and people were trying to free him."
The child, who was unconscious, was freed from the rope and two off-duty police officers as well as employees performed CPR on him.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
"Within 10 seconds, our safety monitors formed a response team along with off-duty police officers and a nurse who was also on site," Cannon wrote. "Our staff followed protocol and communicated via our internal radio system to our CPR and First Aid certified team members."
Police said the boy later regained consciousness and was able to speak with first responders. He was taken to Paoli Hospital.
“We are thankful to the KOP community for helping us respond in an effective and expeditious manner. We are told by police that the boy is okay and the injury is not serious," Cannon wrote. "Our thoughts are with the family and we will be contacting them soon.”
Investigators say the boy was with his family at the time and the incident was ruled accidental. Thrillz remained open on Saturday though the rope ladder the boy was climbing was closed.
"Our operations team includes a former military officer, who is a certified ride inspector by the Agriculture Department of Pennsylvania, which oversees ride and amusement safety in the state," Cannon wrote. "The rope ladder complies with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards, which specify a 9 inch gap between knots, however, out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to further enhance the safety of our equipment by ordering a softer and tighter rope ladder. The obstacle will be closed until our installation is complete.”
Cannon also said the safety of the park's guests "is and always has been our number one priority.”
O'Reilly described the entire ordeal as traumatic.
"My son and my nephew were really upset," O'Reilly said. "They just wanted to go. I mean my son was on the verge of tears. A lot of children were crying. A lot of adults were crying."
O'Reilly told NBC10 she and her family can't stop thinking about the boy.
"I'm just praying for his mother and his family and for him to make a safe recovery," she said. "Tough little guy."
The amusement park had just recently opened in King of Prussia.
