3-year old toddler dies in US rollercoaster fall
By Gaby Leslie,
A US theme park has closed for inspection after a toddler fell out of a rollercoaster and died during a family night out.
The tragedy struck on Saturday as three-year-old Jayson Dansby was riding the Python Pit rollercoaster in front of his parents at the Go Bananas indoor amusement park in a suburban area of Chicago.
Jayson was sitting with his twin brother when he reportedly slipped underneath the safety bar while the five-car snake-themed ride was in motion and plunged 10ft to the ground.
"The boy somehow freed himself from under a safety bar and became wedged between two cars and suffered head injuries," said Norridge police chief James Jobe.
Cook County medical examiner's office said the boy died at the scene.
Jayson's great-uncle Rev Carl Jones told the Chicago Tribune newspaper: "He was a fun child... That child had more spirit and joy than anything in the world. I want to remember the joyous times, the love times, not the incident that took place. I need to remember what time I spent with this child."
According to police, the local boy is believed to have met the height requirement for what the park's website describes as an "exciting child-sized" ride.
Go Bananas workers expressed their utmost sympathy for the Dansby family and promised to cooperate fully with the investigation.
A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Labour, which dispatched its agency's carnival inspectors to the park, said their job is to determine whether a ride meets state and manufacturer safety requirements, if the ride was operating properly and if the operator was operating the ride as recommended.
