The Illinois Department of Labor has withheld previous inspection reports involving the Moby Dick thrill ride from being released, noting the prior inspections are “directly related” to an ongoing investigation into an incident last month that left a 10-year old boy seriously injured.
Huntley Daniels, 10, was thrown from the ride last month while attending the Taste of Summer Festival in Antioch.
He was later airlifted to two separate hospitals before being treated and released. According to his family, he is still recovering from serious injuries to his leg, jaw and face.
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The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
In an effort to learn more about the ride and its operator, All Around Amusement of Lockport, NBC 5 Investigates filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Illinois Department of Labor.
In its response this month, the department provided 171 pages of records.
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While the past inspection reports for other rides operated by All Around Amusement were included, the inspection reports involving the Moby Dick ride were completely redacted.
The ride’s past inspection records could provide key insight into the ride’s operating history.
The heavily redacted inspection records appear to cover inspections spanning the past three years, according to NBC 5 Investigates’ review of the records.
When asked why these redactions were made, a spokesman for the department told NBC 5 Investigates that the “prior inspections are directly related to the current open and active investigation.”
While the Illinois Department of Labor, which inspects amusements rides in the state, has an ongoing investigation into the incident, they’re not the only agency investigating
The Antioch Police Department seized the ride last month as part of an investigation looking to “to determine if any criminally reckless or negligent acts may have contributed to the accident.”
A person who answered the phone at a number listed for All Around Amusement hung up after being reached by NBC 5 Investigates. The company has not responded to additional emails or calls seeking comment.
Since the incident in mid-July, NBC 5 Investigates has also made multiple attempts to reach Wisdom Rides, the manufacturer of the Moby Dick. We are waiting to hear back but have not yet received a response.
Manufacturer issued safety, service bulletins
In 2010 and 2019, Wisdom Rides issued safety and service bulletins to its operators urging them to conduct lap bar inspections and to make repairs if necessary immediately.
According to the company’s website, the most recent service bulletin was issued in July 2019 for the Moby Dick and its sister rides – named the Avalanche and Seven Seas.
The bulletin contained the subject line “lapbar inspection and repair procedure,” which asked operators to “perform the following inspection and repair if needed immediately.” The bulletin went on to encourage operators to inspect both sided of the lapbar at the end of the “reinforcing gussets.”
It also noted to use “appropriate indicating powder to check for indications of cracks in the tubing.”
The safety alert, issued in 2010, notes that if the lap bar doesn’t stay locked, it urges operators to check that the “gear teeth on the lock dog and gear segment are not filled with dust, or hard grease," adding to clean if necessary.
Fundraiser held to aid Huntley’s family
During a public concert last week, local business owners and attendees in Antioch helped raise money for Huntley’s family through the sales of raffle tickets, food and drink concessions and bracelets that bore Huntley’s name.
“This hit everybody, this impacted everybody, and it was being talked about by everybody. So this community, everybody wanted to help,” local restauranteur Kris Schoenberger told NBC 5 Investigates.
Schoenberger and others told NBC 5 Investigates that the incident involving Huntley galvanized the people in the town into helping anyway they could.
It also raised made some parents nervous about putting their children on amusement rides in general.
“What happened here scared a lot of people. I have two young kids the same age as Huntley,” said Heather Fenzel, the owner of a local antique store in Antioch, who was on the business owners involved in the fundraising effort.
Sue Nolan doesn’t know Huntley Daniels, but said she spoke to his mother about creating bracelets to sell to benefit Huntley's family. When asked if the incident changed her view of amusement rides as well, she said: “You bet. I have my two grandkids here. They will not go on carnival rides.”
In an emailed response to NBC 5 Investigates, a spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says his agency is investigating the incident as well.
The federal agency does keep data on amusement rides, but it does not regulate rides at “fixed sites” – like major theme parks where roller coasters remain a fixed attraction year-round.
Between 2020 and 2022, the latest data available, there was an annual average of more than 32,000 injuries associated with amusement attractions (including water slides), according to the CPSC.
