Huntley Daniels GoFundMe: Family launch fundraiser as 10-year-old critically injured on Antioch carnival ride

10-year-old Huntley Daniels sustained severe injuries after falling from a carnival ride called The Moby Dick in Antioch at the Taste of Summer Festival on Sunday, July 16, 2023. The young boy reportedly broke several bones and cracked his skull after the accident. The rides were shut down immediately after the tragic incident took place.

Huntley Daniels was spotted by another woman who was waiting to get on the ride with her son. She mentioned that the 10-year-old kid was on the pavement and wasn't moving at all.

After being tossed off the ride, the child was transferred to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Daniels was then admitted to Comer Children's Hospital for surgery. It has further been confirmed that The Moby Dick, along with some other rides are regulated by the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL).

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Huntley Daniels' GoFundMe page has raised over $27,000

The carnival took a tragic turn on Sunday, after Huntley Daniels, a 10-year-old kid flew off a ride called The Mobi Dick and sustained severe injuries. At around 2:40 pm local time on July 16, authorities arrived at the site of the accident, after receiving reports that a child fell from a ride. The boy was severely injured and had to be airlifted to the hospital.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been launched by Huntley Daniels' uncle to raise funds to meet his medical expenses. It aims to raise $75,000 and has already collected $28,191 with the help of 700 contributors at the time of this writing.

"My nephew was flung from a carnival ride approximately 10-20 feet in the air. He was flown through flight for life twice to two separate hospitals due to the care needed. My sister and his father will be out of work for a time that will make paying for the unknown amount of surgery my nephew will need, almost impossible," the post read.

The fundraiser post then mentioned that Daniels is a "strong kid," as it continued:

“He’s a strong kid. He once broke his arm and pushed the bone back in, on his own because ‘it didn’t hurt.’ Truly remarkable kid.”

Huntley Daniels' grandmother Dawne Pohlman told ABC News that he is currently recovering after undergoing several surgeries and is "pulling through well."

She further mentioned that the family has been living in Antioch for a long time and they have visited the carnival several times. However, they have never experienced such an incident.

“It’s unbelievable. They’ve been on many, many carnival rides. My daughter just called me in panic,” she said.

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Another child on the ride claimed that he was "almost about to fall out"

Another boy who was also on the same ride when the horrific incident took place mentioned that he was uncertain about his safety. The boy identified as Elliott Johnson told NBC Chicago:

“My bar was coming up over my head. Every time I went up because it was going up, I was almost about to fall out, I would slam down to close it.”

Shortly after the incident took place, Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner ordered all the rides to be shut down until officials had reviewed the safety of every ride at the carnival. Several law enforcement agencies including the Antioch Police Department, Antioch Fire Department, Illinois State Police, and the Lake County State Attorney's office, are investigating the incident along with the Illinois Department of Labor.