WYANDOTTE, Mich. – A child fell more than 20 feet when something went wrong on a rock climbing wall Friday night at the Wyandotte Street Art Fair.
Police said the safety cord snapped, causing the boy to fall to the concrete.
“We were just waiting in line for the rock wall and the child in front of us had made it to the top of the wall,” Allison Trombley recalled. “When he let go to come down, the bungee cords snapped and he fell from the top of the rock wall and hit the ground.”
Trombley called 911 and alerted authorities of the incident.
“We were able to talk to the operator, tell her where we were, explain the situation of the boy -- he was unconscious,” Trombley said. “It was just crazy because when he hit, I was expecting for him to be crying, screaming -- something like that, but he was complete silent.”
Police and fire crews rushed to the scene.
“Due to some human error or an equipment malfunction, he fell off the wall, more than 20 feet to the ground,” said Wyandotte deputy police chief Archie Hamilton. “He suffered multiple broken bones. He was unconscious when the officers arrived and they did rush him to the hospital for treatment.”
Trombley said there was a huge crowd around when the accident happened.
“Mainly, people were just trying to grab their kids and leave,” Trombley said. “They didn’t want their kids to see it, see him on the ground.”
Police said the ride was shut down immediately and the ride operators will not be returning to the fair.
Now many people are questioning if the rides are even safe..
“The company that had them, they have a lot of bounce houses and water slides,” Trombley said. “Those are fine, but if they’re going to have big things like that, they need to know how to keep up with them and maintain them.”
Wyandotte police said all of the companies were screened before the fair and they have never had an incident like this before. This is the fourth year the company that was involved.
The boy was transported to Children’s Hospital in Detroit.
Company releases statement
In a statement, the rock climbing company Airborne Bouncers said,” The Airborne Bouncers family has been devastated by the accident, we would like to extend our sincerest heart-felt apologizes to the young man and family involved. It is our company’s mission to provide positive family fun and create memories. The equipment in question has been taken out of service until a full investigation and safety inspection has been completed.”
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