Teen gets stuck in claw machine at North Carolina theme park
CHARLOTTE (WJZY) – A 13-year-old boy climbed inside a claw machine at a North Carolina amusement park and got stuck over the weekend, a spokesperson for the theme park confirmed.
Staffers at the Carowinds theme park in Charlotte were notified of the odd occurrence just before 2 p.m. on Sunday, the spokesperson said. The boy had climbed inside the machine — the Cosmic XL Bonus Game located in the Thrill Zone — in the hopes of stealing a toy, according to the park representative.
The park’s crew extricated the boy from the machine, after which medical staffers attended to him. He was stuck for about 17 minutes, the park said.
The teen was released to his guardian after medical treatment.
He has since been banned from the park for one year due to attempted theft, a park representative told the Associated Press.
Photos of the boy stuck in the machine have been published to a Carowinds fan account on Facebook, where commenters appeared equally amused, aggravated and astonished by the teen’s feat.
“This kid is going to have the most epic story to tell his friends about his Carowinds trip,” one wrote.
“Awesome job by the parents,” someone else sarcastically remarked. “Now kick them out for the remainder of the year.”
“His guardian should have to win him back,” another joked.