11-year-old dies in Amusement park ride, parents speak out
David and Sabrina Jaramillo went with their family to an amusement park on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of their eldest son but were met with a tragic accident on a water ride leaving one of their children dead and another in a medically induced coma.
“I will never get a chance to see him grow up or get a chance to see him, graduate,” Sabrina Jaramillo told ABC News in an exclusive interview airing Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”
“He was just taken from us,” David Jaramillo added. “Love your kids. You just don’t know when they’ll be taken.”
The Jaramillos enjoyed several other rides before taking their place in the line for the Raging River at the Adventureland Park, a family-owned amusement park in Altoona, a suburb of Iowa’s capital city, Des Moines. The parents boarded a raft with their son David, 15, Michael, 11, their youngest son, Gus, and their niece, Mila. As the ride was about to begin, their tube suddenly lopsided, leaving the family trapped underwater.
“I see the silhouettes of my sons trying to grab each other, grab us,” the father recalled. “They want us to help them. We couldn’t do it.”
Both parents along with their youngest son and niece eventually freed themselves and swam to the surface. But David and Michael were left stuck underneath with no one able to reach them.
“I’m drowning,” the father said. “The river was so intense, it was like a suction.”
The family’s screams for help got the attention of witnesses, and first responders jumped in the water and helped in getting the kids out of the tube.
David and Michael were taken to a local hospital in critical condition, while the others were treated for minor injuries. According to the Altoona Police Department, Michael died from his injuries on Sunday, while David remains hospitalized in critical condition.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Jaramillo family as they navigate the heartbreaking loss of their child,” police said in a statement Monday. “Altoona Detective are working with the State Inspector and Adventureland Park to understand this tragic accident.”
The Jaramillos have been in the hospital waiting for their eldest son to wake up from the medically induced coma. He turns 16 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, their youngest son, Gus, is struggling to cope with the incident.
“He’s scared. It is a nightmare,” the father told ABC News. “He closes his eyes and thinks about the water. When he wakes up, he realizes the nightmare’s true. So there’s no peace.”
