Amid criminal probe, Antioch police take possession of carnival ride from which boy was thrown
ANTIOCH, Ill. (CBS) -- Antioch police have impounded the carnival ride from which a 10-year-old boy was thrown and critically injured over the weekend.
The Illinois Department of Labor conducted a follow-up inspection Wednesday of the Moby Dick ride from the Taste of Antioch – which is owned and has been operated with All Around Amusement of Lockport.
After the inspection ended Wednesday afternoon, Antioch police Chief Geoffrey Guttschow had detectives work with the Lake County State's Attorney's office to apply for a search warrant to secure the ride as part of a criminal investigation.
A judge granted the warrant, and police put the ride on a tow truck and hauled it from Shorewood back to Antioch.
"Our detectives have been working along with inspectors from the Illinois Department of Labor to determine if any criminally reckless or negligent acts may have contributed to the accident," Guttschow said in a news release. "The outcome of this week's inspections of the ride necessitated us to immediately secure it as evidence as part of the criminal investigation."
On Sunday afternoon, 10-year-old Huntley Daniels was thrown from the ride. A witness said his harness was coming loose.
Police said Huntley was airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge in critical condition. He later was later transferred to the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital.
A family member told CBS 2 Huntley suffered serious injuries; including broken ribs, a broken femur, a broken arm, a cracked skull, a broken jaw, and his teeth being shoved into his gums.
Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner ordered all of the rides at the event shut down on Sunday to allow officials to review the safety of each ride, but the festival was allowed to remain open for its last day on Sunday.
A family member claimed they noticed the operator was not checking harnesses before the ride began. Antioch police and the Department of Labor are investigating to see whether or not that its true.
