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Aug 14, 2023

Florida Roller Coaster Closes After Boy Falls Off and Is Hospitalized

The ride was shut down pending an investigation by the state's Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services WESH A roller coaster at a Florida theme park has closed down after a 6-year-old boy fell

The ride was shut down pending an investigation by the state's Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

WESH

A roller coaster at a Florida theme park has closed down after a 6-year-old boy fell from the ride and was seriously injured.

The incident happened on Thursday as the boy rode on the Galaxy Spin ride at Fun Spot America, near Kissimmee, Florida, which is located about 22 miles south of Orlando, Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS told NBC News.

"Units arrived to find a 6-year-old with traumatic injuries under the roller coaster track which was approximately 20 feet above," Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS Office said.

The boy was hospitalized for unspecified injuries at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children after the fall, and his condition is currently unknown, per the outlet.

Following the incident, Fun Spot said it closed down the Galaxy Spin roller coaster pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS), adding that it would be working with the FDACS and the ride’s manufacturer to find out what happened, per Orlando news station WFTV9.

“The FDACS has inspected the ride and found it to be in normal operating condition with no mechanical issues,” a spokesperson for Fun Spot told WFTV9 in a statement.

The company said the FDACS found the ride had operated “following all safety procedures and guidelines” set by the manufacturers and industry standards.

“All our guests can rest assured knowing that Fun Spot America will not reopen the ride until we are 100% sure this will not happen again,” the company also said, adding that the “safety of our guests is our number one priority.”

Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS and Fun Spot did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The Galaxy Spin roller coaster is described as a “wild mouse style type coaster” that “produces heavy G forces” as riders turn the sharp corners of the ride, according to Fun Spot’s website. Children must be at least 48 inches to ride the roller coaster or 42 inches as long as they ride with an adult.

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The ride has single car trains that spin with riders “arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 4 riders per car,” according to the Roller Coaster DataBase, which tracks roller coasters statistics around the world.

According to the database, the Galaxy Spin reaches a total height of 42.7 ft. and its cars move across the track at about 29.1 mph. The ride usually lasts about a minute and 30 seconds total and produces a G-Force of about 2.5.