Shocking footage captured the moment a child walked along the monorail track at Pennsylvania’s Hersheypark as panicked adults rushed to help.
Amusement park officials told the Daily Mail the young boy was reported missing around 5pm on Saturday after becoming separated from his parents.
Security was searching for the boy when he entered the secured monorail ride area, which was closed at the time, according to a Hersheypark spokesperson.
‘The ride was closed and safeguarded by a chained closure at the entrance and barricaded turnstile at the platform,’ the spokesperson said.
‘The child remained at the closed station for about 20 minutes before briefly walking along the track.’
Terrifying footage shared on social media showed the boy walking along the tracks, which encircles the entire park, as a crowd gathered to guide him to safety.
The boy appeared to become overwhelmed by the shouting voices and placed his hands over his ears as he started to walk back and forth.
Eventually, an adult managed to get on the roof of a food stand, jumped on to the tracks and grabbed the boy, then brought him down to safety.
A young boy was captured walking along the monorail at Pennsylvania’s Hersheypark on Saturday
Terrifying footage showed the boy walking the tracks, with a crowd gathering to guide him to safety. Park officials stated the ride was closed at the time.
‘A guest quickly noticed and helped guide the child to safety,’ the amusement park spokesperson said.
‘Our team members immediately responded after he was spotted on the tracks, and at approximately 5.28pm, the child was safely reunited with his family. He was unharmed.
‘We are grateful for the vigilance of our guests and the swift response of our team, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest levels of guest safety throughout Hersheypark.’
Commenters praised the quick thinking adults who saved the boy and emphasized the importance of doing whatever it takes to keep track of your kids.
‘Some heroes… don’t wear capes,’ one person said. ‘I bet that guy is a dad cause he didn’t think twice and worked fast,’ added another.
‘Kudos to the two men who climbed up and rescued him. They did not hesitate and reacted quick! Glad he’s safe,’ said a third person.
‘And this is one of the reasons idgf (excuse my French) when people make remarks about my 3 year old with a roped backpack,’ a fourth person said.
It comes over a month after a nine-year-old girl died in a busy area of Hersheypark’s wave pool.
An adult managed to get on the roof of a food stand, jumped on to the tracks and grabbed the boy, then brought him down to safety
The close call on the monorail comes a month after a nine-year-old girl died in a busy area of Hersheypark’s wave pool
Sophia Subedi, 9, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was pulled from the water unresponsive on July 24 and could not be revived.
Despite false rumors the child suffered a medical emergency that led to her death, the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office determined the incident was accidental.
‘The decedent did not have a medical event that caused the drowning,’ Deputy Chief Clerk with the Dauphin County Commissioners Vincent Paese told WGAL on Monday.
Witnesses recalled that the popular attraction was filled with guests when Sophia died, and the park said more than 100 lifeguards were on duty in the Boardwalk area, with 10 ‘specifically dedicated to the wave pool.’
Sophia was ‘in distress’ in the wave pool before she died, and onlookers said she was ‘limp’ while being pulled from the water during the sweltering 92-degree evening.
After park staff performed life-saving measures, the young girl was taken to Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The 378,000-gallon pool, officially named ‘The Shore,’ has zero depth entry, meaning it gets deeper the further someone goes in. It has a maximum depth of six feet.
It is unclear what part of the pool Sophia was swimming in when she drowned.
Hersheypark, along with the Derry Township Police Department and the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office, are investigating what led up to her untimely death.
