Local News

Charlotte-area trampoline park to remove attraction where child died

The Charlotte-area trampoline park where a 12-year-old boy died after a mishap last week said it will close the attraction where the accident happened.

Posted Updated

By
Jason O. Boyd
, WRAL.com digital journalist
GASTONIA, N.C. — The Charlotte-area trampoline park where a 12-year-old boy died after a mishap last week said it will close the attraction where the accident happened.
The boy, Matthew Lu, fell off a climbing wall inside the facility shortly after 6 p.m. on June 19. Courtney Wilde, Executive Vice President of Global Operations for Altitude Trampoline Park in Gastonia, in a press release on Thursday said human error was the cause of Lu's accident.

Lu was transported to a local hospital where he died of his injuries a day later.

"Last week’s tragic fall was an accident - an unfortunate case of human error," Wilde said. "Lu was wearing a properly fitted harness and was instructed by a certified court monitor on how to self-clip into the belay system, but in this instance that did not occur.

"Out of respect for the family, our team members and our guests, we will be removing this attraction from the Gastonia location. We would not expect our visitors, nor our team members to partake in this attraction after such a tragedy.”

Wilde said officials there have "worked diligently, using every resource at our disposal, to find answers." She also said all the equipment was inspected, interviews were conducted and surveillance footage was looked at before determining the cause of the accident.

"We felt we owed this young man, his family and park-goers nationwide due diligence to understand exactly what happened, leaving no question unanswered," Wilde said.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.