A young boy was rescued while walking alone on the track of an elevated ride at Pennsylvania’s Hersheypark on Saturday in a heart-stopping incident caught on video, distressing both onlookers and social media scrollers.
The video, which circulated online, shows the child standing on the track of the Capital BlueCross Monorail, a ride that offers an audio tour of the amusement park. Its track is elevated no less than 20 feet off the ground.
The child, who was reported missing at around 5 p.m. after becoming separated from his parents, had wandered onto the ride’s track, which was not in operation that day, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts said in a statement.
“While our team was actively searching, the child entered a secured area for the Monorail,” a spokesperson for the company said, adding that the ride “was closed and safeguarded by a chained closure at the entrance and barricaded turnstile at the platform.”
Staff immediately responded to the area after the boy was seen on the tracks, the spokesperson said.
In the video, some worried onlookers could be heard screaming, while others tried to instruct the child how to get off the Monorail.
“Keep walking!” one of the onlookers could be heard saying to the child while pointing left.
The child is seen walking to the left before some onlookers could be heard telling him to stop. The boy then puts his hand on his head, seemingly confused.
A good Samaritan in a green hat took matters into his own hands by climbing onto the roof of a nearby structure and motioning for the boy to come his way, according to the video. The man then launched himself onto the monorail and picked up the boy to cheers and a round of applause from the onlookers.
The child was not harmed and was reunited with his family about 20 minutes after he was reported missing, according to Hershey Entertainment & Resorts.
“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,” the company said.
