Georgia amusement park guests watch in horror as boy, 5, ‘flies out’ of water slide

A 5-year-old boy was injured Tuesday after falling off a water slide at a Georgia amusement park, the park said. 

The child was riding in a double tube at the Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park, near the Georgia-Tennessee border, when he was injured, a park spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

He fell 15 to 20 feet from the slide, John Pless, a spokesman for Catoosa County, where the park is located, told Fox News Digital. 

A parkgoer told WZTV that she saw the boy “fly out” of the green and yellow water slide.

Another witness, Ginger Bence, said she heard several employees blow whistles, which she assumed was part of a safety protocol when someone is hurt, according to the news outlet. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget it,” Bence said. “I thought ‘Is he alive?’”

The child was treated at the scene and taken to the Children’s Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, Tennessee, said Pless. He said the condition and extent of injuries to the child was unknown. 

The Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire told Fox News Digital that it was called to investigate the water ride. 

“We have an inspector on the scene there today, but it is too early in our investigation to release any preliminary findings,” an agency spokesperson said Thursday. “We will most likely release a final report in the next few days.”

The park told Fox News Digital that state inspectors looked at the Twist-N-Shout water ride, including the rider tubes, the ride foundation, and signage and reopened it.

“Lake Winnepesaukah is a family amusement park that prides itself on a safe, welcome atmosphere,” the park said.