KANSAS – A
boy was injured while riding a roller coaster on Thursday and rushed to a
Pittsburgh hospital, emergency services and park officials said, in the third
accident this week involving children hurt or killed on U.S. amusement park
rides.

The
incident comes following the death of a 10-year-old boy who was decapitated
during a ride on the world’s tallest waterslide in Kansas.

Caleb
Schwab was killed on the “Verruckt” raft slide on Sunday. The boy’s parents — Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab
and his wife, Michele — have not spoken publicly since the death.

Verruckt —which in German means “insane” — featured
multi-person rafts that make a 168-foot drop at speeds of up to 70 mph,
followed by a surge up a hump and a 50-foot descent to a finishing pool. 

Riders, who must be at least 54 inches tall, were harnessed with
two nylon seatbelt-like straps — one that crossed the rider’s lap, the other
stretching diagonally like a car shoulder seatbelt. Each strap was held in
place by long Velcro-style straps, not by buckles. Riders would hold ropes
inside the raft.

Since the accident, investigators have removed netting that was
held in place by supports above the 50-foot section from the hump to the
finishing pool.

 The park re-opened on Wednesday, but the
waterslide remained closed. 

On
Monday, three girls aged 6, 10 and 16 were hospitalized after they fell more
than 30 feet from a Ferris wheel when the basket they were in overturned at a
county fair in Greeneville, Tennessee, local media reported. 

In
Pittsburg on Thursday, the injured boy, who was on the ride with his brother,
was conscious while being treated on site, park spokesman Jeff Croushore said
in a statement.

It was not immediately clear how the boy was injured. Local
media said he was about 3 years old, citing sources including the fire station
dispatcher, and that he fell off the ride, known as the Rollo Coaster. 

Croushore said the ride will be closed pending an
investigation.

Idlewild requires children to be at least 3 feet tall to
ride the roller coaster, and those shorter than 4 feet must be accompanied by
an adult. The ride was built in 1938, according to the park’s website, and the
state department of agriculture said it passed inspection on Aug. 6.