Child thrown off roller coaster is third horrific amusement park accident this week

A 3-year-old boy was thrown from a roller coaster without seatbelts in Pennsylvania on Thursday.

The boy’s condition is unknown, but Idlewild & Soak Zone park officials told WPXI that the boy was conscious and speaking when he was taken to the hospital. He was riding with his brother around noon when he fell, around the middle of the track.

The Rollo Coaster is a ride without seatbelts or restraints and was built in 1938, according to a YouTube video featuring the coaster. The max height of the coaster is 27 feet.

To ride solo you have to be 48-inches tall and to ride with an adult you have to be 36-inches tall. The average height of a 3-year-old is 38 inches.

The ride was closed indefinitely after the accident, pending results of an investigation. Park officials said the ride was observed by a private inspector and passed on Aug. 6.

It’s been a particularly harrowing week for amusement park accidents. It started Sunday, when a 10-year-old riding the “world’s tallest water slide” fell off and was decapitated. The Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City announced the slide would remain closed for the remainder of the season.

The next day, three girls were injured when they were thrown from a Ferris Wheel at a county fair in Greeneville, Tennessee. The girls, ages 6, 10 and 16, fell from between 35 and 40 feet and were taken to the hospital. The older two girls are stable, but the 6-year-old was having seizures and suffered a severe concussion. It’s unknown if she’ll fully recover. Officials said the car dumped the children due to a “mechanical problem.”

This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 6:15 AM with the headline "Child thrown off roller coaster is third horrific amusement park accident this week."