Three-year-old girl dies after falling from illegal carnival ride while on vacation in Mexico
A three-year-old girl from Iowa died after being thrown from a 10-meter-high carnival ride in Mexico while she was on vacation with her family. The little girl Jenessy 'Sophia' Villalpando and her family fell off the ride while at a fair in Penjamo, north of Mexico City on July 23. She fell when the ride was around 10 meters above and passed away even though someone in the crowd attempted to catch her. Sophia who resides in Waterloo was immediately rushed to a local hospital.
She suffered from major head trauma and was placed in an induced coma. Unfortunately, she passed away while the doctors were still awaiting her MRI results. According to reports from a local Mexican newspaper, Sophia was sitting on her mother's lap on the ride when she tragically slipped and fell down.
However, according to the girl's family, Sophia was never sitting on her mother's lap but was sitting next to her at the time of the freak accident and was not buckled correctly. According to an investigation by Mexico's Elements of State Civil Protection agency, it was found that the ride operators did not have a permission to operate at the fair, as reported by El Mercurio.
The ride also has an age restriction and only those ten years or older are allowed on it. At the time of her death, Sophia was on vacation with her mother, grandfather, and great-grandmother. The family was due to return to Iowa a few days later. In order to transport Sophia's body back to the US and also make arrangements for her funeral, the family started a 'GoFundMe' page.
The page reads, "Our family is in complete shock, confused, and heartbroken. Sophia was so full of life, she was the family sunshine, the one who could make us all forget about our problems with her cheerful personality. All we want is to bring our little Angel home". The family will be having a princess-themed funeral for the child on Tuesday.