A 5-year-old girl died three days ago after hitting the starting gate of a harness race at an Illinois county fair, officials said Wednesday.
Harper Finn was sitting in the bleachers at the Effingham County Fair when she was struck by the folding arm of the WCIA start gate. report.
“If you’ve never seen a pace car, it’s a little hard to explain. But this car has two big wings at the rear that align all the horses when you start the race,” said Paul. Sheriff Koons explained. according to Kansas City Star. “It prevents them from passing the pace car. But when the horse starts and the pace picks up, gates and wings fold up along the side of the car, allowing the car to start and stop.” .”
People across central Illinois are mourning Harper Finn’s passing after news broke Thursday morning. Coles County Fair attendees called the situation devastating and said they were heartbroken for the entire community.https://t.co/QPz7wYkN0n
—WCIA.com (@WCIA3) August 4, 2023
But on Sunday, the gate failed to fold and flew into the stands, hitting the Central Illinois Proud’s fin. report.
Finn was airlifted to a hospital in St. Louis, but died of his injuries on the night of August 2, just hours after a massive vigil was held for him in the stands, according to the Effingham Daily.・The news paper reported. report. “This is such a tragedy and we are such a close-knit community that almost everyone feels it,” Koons said, according to the Kansas City Star. (Related: Florida toddler drives golf cart, hits 7-year-old, dies)
Effingham County Fair cancel He has also scheduled the remaining harness races scheduled at the fair and has pledged to work closely with the sheriff’s office investigating the incident. “I would like to thank the public for their support and cooperation in this investigation,” Koons said, according to the WCIA. “My deepest condolences to Finn’s family and all involved.”
