A young girl died after a go-karting accident at a Florida family entertainment center over the weekend, police said.
Just after 8:50 p.m. Saturday, 911 dispatchers received a call from staff at the Urban Air Adventure Park in Port St. Lucie, who reported a go-kart accident involving a child, Port St. Lucie Police said. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the child being treated by St. Lucie County Fire District personnel.
The girl was then airlifted to HCA Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce. Despite medical treatment, the girl died from her injuries on Sunday, Port St. Lucie Police said.
According to WPEC, the CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach, the child was identified by her family as six-year-old Emma Riddle; they sent her obituary to the station earlier this week, describing her as “full of life, love and light,” and said she was at Urban Air celebrating her sister’s birthday when the accident happened. CBS News has not independently confirmed the girl’s identity.
In a statement provided to CBS News, an Urban Air spokesperson said that the family entertainment center is “heartbroken by the tragic accident” that happened at its Port St. Lucie location.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the child’s family and loved ones,” the statement said. “Our policies, procedures and equipment are designed to keep children and families safe, and the well-being of the children and families we serve is always our top priority. Our team responded immediately, and emergency personnel arrived on-site. We are working with state and local authorities as their investigation moves forward.”
The spokesperson continued, saying that the Port St. Lucie location is closed while the investigation continues out of respect for the child’s family.
According to WPEC, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has oversight of go-kart tracks because they fall under the jurisdiction of carnival rides, and a state investigation into the accident is underway.
Port St. Lucie Police said it has also notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the accident.
A witness of previous accidents says go-kart safety has been a longstanding concern
As the investigation into the girl’s death continues, one resident who allegedly saw multiple prior incidents at Urban Air told WPEC that the go-karts have been of concern for a while.
Stephon Jennings, who allegedly witnessed previous crashes while filming promotional videos for the family entertainment center, said he immediately suspected the cause.
“The news article I saw didn’t say what caused [the accident], but I commented on it, and I was like ‘I am 100% sure this has to be a go-kart accident,'” he told WPEC.
Jennings added that while the previous accidents he allegedly saw were not fatal, they were still troubling.
“Even at those levels, the karts will still just scrub into the wall. And honestly, the workers weren’t really doing any due diligence to educate the kids, [and] let them know how to actually properly drive the car,” he told WPEC. “It’s more of a free-for-all when you get out there.”
Jennings claimed that when he raised concerns about go-kart track safety to the Urban Air Adventure Park owners, they didn’t take him seriously.
“Not just from the management and the staff at the lower level — when you go up to the higher levels, like the owners and everything, and you’re expressing these issues, they kind of just shove you underneath the rug,” he told WPEC.
According to WPEC, the parent company of Urban Air Adventure Park has been sued and settled multiple times for incidents involving their attractions. One previous case involved a 10-year-old who fell 20 feet off a zipline but recovered from the fall.
