A 12-year-old boy died after falling at a trampoline park in North Carolina, police said Friday morning.
The incident happened Wednesday night as the boy was climbing the rock wall at the Altitude Trampoline Park in Lowell, WSOC-TV reported.
On Thursday, the company’s executive vice president of global operations, Courtney Wilde, said the company was staying in contact with the family but declined to provide updates on the child’s condition, citing a desire to protect the family’s privacy.
Wilde said the company closed the rock climbing structure after the incident while they “investigate exactly what happened.”
Wilde added, “We’re taking every step necessary at the park.”
Police told WSOC that after the fall, the boy had to be airlifted to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte for treatment of “potential brain injuries.”
A woman who identified herself as the child’s mother told 911 dispatchers that her child was unconscious following the fall. It was one of many panicked 911 calls made from the trampoline park Wednesday night.
When paramedics arrived, witnesses said the boy couldn't move and was barely breathing.
The child's name has not been released.
Some trampoline park customers told WSOC the fall has them now second-guessing their own children's safety.
“It’s absolutely devastating,” said Lindsay Bridges. “It makes me question if we should go again.“
Earlier this year, WSOC investigated trampoline parks and how they're regulated.
WSOC anchor Allison Latos found out North Carolina and South Carolina do not inspect and regulate trampoline parks.
Lawmakers told Allison they would look into changing that, and the International Association of Trampoline Parks said starting next year, those parks must get third-party inspections to become members.
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