RALPHO TOWNSHIP -- Police are investigating an apparent drowning at Knoebels Amusement Resort.
Knoebels Amusement Resort near Elysburg was filled with people riding rides and enjoying food Saturday, but for Lucille Colburn of Coaldale and her family, they only wanted to go to the pool. When they arrived, they saw flashing lights and instantly knew something was wrong.
“Next thing I know, there’s a golf cart behind us whistling, so he came through and I told Kathy (her daughter), ‘I wonder if there’s an emergency,’ and at that time I noticed he had the red light golf cart in the pool area.
A spokesperson for Knoebels said around 3 p.m., emergency responders found an 8-year-old boy unresponsive in the shallow end of the Crystal Pool.
Both lifeguards and their first aid team tried to save the child's life and evacuated the pool until he was taken to Geisinger Medical Center near Danville. The boy did not survive.
Kathryn Colburn, a mother of two, says the news of the child's death is heartbreaking.
“As a mother, I couldn't imagine,” she said. “My babies are my everything. I couldn't imagine.”
Knoebels says crews did the best they could do and after everything was clear the pool was reopened to the public.
“Obviously, when anything happens we take it very seriously. All of our guest are like family to us, so our thoughts and prayers are out there with someone who has a medical condition or a problem that occurs while they are visiting our park,” said Karl Beagle, with Knoebels.
The boy's name has not yet been released.
