Child Falls Off Idlewild and Soak Zone Roller Coaster: Reports

A boy fell off a roller coaster at Idlewild and Soak Zone in Ligonier, Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon and was conscious when he was taken via helicopter to a Pittsburgh-area hospital, according to multiple reports.

The boy was riding the Rollo Coaster ride at the amusement park, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which quoted a park spokesman.

"He was talking," Jeff Croushore told the paper. "He was alert with his family, but he was airlifted to a local hospital."

Emergency dispatchers told multiple local media outlets that the boy fell off the roller coaster, but a park statement only said that “a boy riding the Rollo Coaster with his brother was injured while riding the attraction.”

Other details about how exactly the injury or fall occurred and information about the boy's injury or its extent was not available Thursday evening.

Helicopter video from WPXI showed officials gathered near what appeared to be a wooden roller coaster and an ambulance driving through the park. Video also showed people riding a roller coaster; the park was apparently still open for business in the immediate hours after the boy's injury.

Joseph Filoromo, supervisor for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Amusement Ride Safety Division told PennLive.com that the ride would be closed until further notice.

"It's shut down and it's not going to run until I say so," Filoromo said.

It's the third incident of injuries at amusement parks in America this week.

In Kansas on Sunday, a 10-year-old boy died after he fell off the "World's Tallest Waterslide." On Wednesday in Tennessee, three girls were injured when they fell out of a Ferris wheel.

Image via Martin Lewison, Flickr, used under Creative Commons