Child dies after being pinned at rotating restaurant in Atlanta

ATLANTA - A 5-year-old North Carolina boy has died from injuries he received at a rotating restaurant 72 stories above Downtown Atlanta.

“The family was visitors to our city. They were up enjoying one of our favorite attractions, the restaurant and just things went horribly wrong,” said Sgt. Warren Pickard, Atlanta Police Department.

Firefighters were called out to the Sun Dial at the top of the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel around 3:30 p.m. Investigators said the boy was pinned between the rotating portion of the restaurant and the stationary portion.

“The child was in the restaurant having lunch with his family and doing what small children do, the child's 5 years old,” said Sgt. Pickard. “He wandered away from the table and was somehow able to get lodged in between the rotating floor and the wall and the table.”

It took rescue crews about 30 minutes to free the child from a 4-inch gap along the line of rotation.

“What we do know is that people in the restaurant, everyone ran to the child's aid. Pulling furniture, turning over tables, trying to administer first aid, but just want not successful in saving the child's life,” said Sgt. Pickard.

The child was bleeding from the head, according to emergency officials, as he was rushed to a nearby hospital. He later died.

Officials said the child was bleeding from the head. Medics rushed the child to an area hospital where the boy later died.

"We know it was a very tragic incident,” said Sgt. Pickard.

Police said the family was visiting Atlanta from the Charlotte area.