Child injured in water park accident released from hospital

An 8-year-old girl injured in a weekend accident at the Lost Island water park in Waterloo was released from the hospital late Monday afternoon.

Payton Amling of Fairfax suffered a small brain bleed and a broken collar bone in the weekend accident.  According to her father, the two flipped while riding an inter-tube on the Molokini Crater water slide.

"Parents need to be aware of the dangers of some of these rides," Todd Amling, Payton's father said.  "I don't want to bash the water park, but I do want to raise awareness."

Lost Island General Manager Eric Bertch said he isn't exactly sure what happened.

"We're still looking into it," Bertch said.  "We closed down the ride for an investigation on Saturday afternoon."

Bertch said his staff tried to recreate the incident, but were unsuccessful.  The ride is back open after what he called a "freak accident."

"We pride ourselves on safety," Bertch said. "We in the entire park have never had an unconscious event out here (until Saturday)."

Amling briefly lost consciousness before being taken by ambulance to a Waterloo hospital.  She was later flown by AirCare helicopter to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

"I don't really remember anything about it," Payton Amling said shortly after being released from the hospital.

Todd Amling said he plans to go back to the water park and talk with staff about what happened in an effort to help prevent it from happening again.

"No one wants this to happen to their kid," he said.

An 8-year-old Fairfax girl was injured Saturday on a waterslide at Lost Island Water Park in Waterloo.

The girl was knocked unconscious when the tube she was on flipped upside down while riding the Molokini Crater slide. An accident report says she was knocked unconscious.

The girl was taken to a hospital and the cause of the accident is still under investigation.