Boy who died at rotating restaurant in Atlanta identified

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Updated 4:45 pm, Sunday, April 16, 2017


ATLANTA (AP) — Officials have identified a 5-year-old boy who died after getting caught in the rotating wall of an Atlanta restaurant.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://on-ajc.com/2pr2Rnp ) reports that the Fulton County Medical Examiner identified the boy on Sunday as Charlie Holt. The boy got his head stuck between two tables and suffered a head injury Friday at the Sun Dial, which sits atop the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel.

Atlanta Police Officer S.R. Brown says Holt was visiting along with his parents from Charlotte, North Carolina. The family was at a window seat when Holt wandered away from the table.

Brown says the rotating floor shut off automatically when Holt was struck.

Read more: Link to source

---

[center]

[cannabis_flower]

1. Sorry for the parents loss..

and I know I might get some grief here for saying this but two observations here. Don't take young children to places they don't belong (fancy adult sit down restaurants) and if you do, pay attention to them and don't let them wander around the restaurant.

When I was a kid and my parents took me to a restaurant, I was expected to sit in my seat and not run around. I go to restaurants now days and see kids running around while the adults at the table talk and laugh and pay not attention to the kids who wander around and get in the way of the waitstaff and the other customers. If you want to let your kids wander about the restaurant, go to Chuckie Cheese or some other restaurant that caters to letting kids run around, otherwise leave them home with a babysitter. Can't afford a babysitter, stay home.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Agree. My son spoke about kids actually appearing in his very

busy kitchen when he was a kitchen manager.

[7962]

3. You're right on both counts. And this thing moves VERY slow,

i dont see how he could have gotten stuck but obviously he did

[dalton99a]

8. He got his head stuck between a table and a wall as the floor moved

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/15/us/atlanta-sun-dial-restaurant-boy-dies/

[bettyellen]

53. The thing is - the wall is constantly moving, so he should have known...

Poor kid was probably testing boundaries. Poor dumb parents. Ugh.

[cstanleytech]

89. I doubt many 5 year olds would have known but regardless its tragic that it happened. nt

[bitterross]

4. I agree with your comments totally

At the risk of sounding old....

When I was a kid I was the youngest of four kids. When we were taken to a real adult restaurant we were expected to sit in our seats and behave. It was a rare and special treat. Like you, I see kids running all over in places where they should be behaving.

A tail of two families on the train last weekend:

I got on the train and sat down waiting for departure. A family of four boarded after me. The children were a toddler and probably a 5 or 6 year-old. The toddler was appropriately amazed at everything. And he shared that amazement very loudly and continually. The older child wandered around the car from side to side tripping over people and their things.

So as to avoid my blood pressure rising I simply got up and moved to another car. As fate would have it there was a family of four. The children were a toddler and probably a 5 or 6 year-old. The toddler was appropriately amazed at everything. And he shared it quietly with his parents and sibling with an inside voice. His sibling sat in her seat and read the book her parents had thoughtfully brought along as a distraction for her.

That is an absolutely true story. Two ends of the train car and two ends of the spectrum of parenting.

[cannabis_flower]

5. I got chastised by a father once...

because his daugher who was maybe 4 or 5 was in the grocery store poking her fingers in packages of hamburger meat. I told her "don't do that, that's nasty." There were no parents in sight.

She went running to her dad, who approached me and told me that I shouldn't have spoken to his daughter and should have "told his lady."

I told him that I didn't see them anywhere around, and they obviously weren't paying attention to her. I told her this is a free country and I could speak to anyone I felt like and if he didn't want me talking to his daughter, he should keep an eye on her and not let her go around sticking her dirty fingers in the hamburger meat. That pretty much shut him up.

[Phentex]

15. I completely believe you...

restaurants are another example. Some kids are taught to stay in their seats, use regular voices, and eat their dinner. Other kids are allowed to lean back over the booth to look at other families, play with the salt and pepper shakers, go under the table, throw food on the floor or wander around the restaurant. Different types of parenting.

[LeftInTX]

6. I was recently at one these restaurants.

I think it is important for parents to be aware that something could happen where the rotating section meets the stationary section.

[Chemisse]

9. Kids are so inquisitive.

They often try things we wouldn't even anticipate.

Terribly sad for the family.

[bitterross]

10. Kids are no more inquisitive now than in the past. Don't make excuses for bad parenting.

Good parenting now is no different than in the past. One sets expectations for the child, makes them clear, then holds the child to those expectations. If the child is too young to be able to comprehend this then the parent must take care of the child to prevent it from danger and from making others miserable.

We are not talking about being in the woods or a park where kids might be expected to be able to run free. We're talking about a sit-down restaurant.

[Chemisse]

13. Don't be so quick to condemn the parents.

I hate it when people go on line and pile on against parents who have lost a child, while congratulating themselves for their own superior parenting skills.

You weren't there; you have no clue how it happened. They may have been seated right next to the edge and the child got out of his seat to go to the bathroom. Who the heck knows? Or maybe they could have been more strict in an adult restaurant, but who cares? This was a freak occurrence; it certainly wasn't an obvious danger that they neglected to protect him from.

They lost their little boy in a horrible way, and they will never stop castigating themselves, not for the rest of their lives.

Always err on the side of kindness and compassion.

[harun]

14. Very discouraged by the high and mighty posting on this thread

As the father of a two year old sometimes all you do is blink and they are in a dangerous situation. Doesn't make you a bad parent, makes you a human.

Thank you for your post.

[Phentex]

16. I don't consider it high and mighty. More of a cautionary tale...

I am not talking about this particular incident because we don't know what really happened. But often when we do hear about these kinds of tragedies that could be prevented, the second thing you think is how can we make sure this doesn't happen? I think that's part of being human, too.

[pnwmom]

52. I'm hearing a lot of people being smug and judgmental. They obviously were perfect parents. n/t

[pnwmom]

54. Me, too -- as a grandmother. No human being could keep their eyes on their children

every waking second. It's not possible.

We have ALL had those moments when we breathe a sigh of relief because we just missed something bad happening, despite our best efforts. (Either that or we're too stupid to notice those moments.)

[Chemisse]

64. Exactly right. And any of those moments could've ended differently. n/t

[Hassin Bin Sober]

71. My partner was arguing with his coworker about that gorilla incident last summer.

We don't have any kids. My partner was on the "how can you lose track of your kid" team.

His coworker, who has kids, was on the "it's impossible to keep track" team.

Then my partner's sister and her 4 year old visited and we took them to the Museum of Science and Industry, the Shed Aqaurium, and the Chicago Planetarium.

All in one day.

After about the 9th time losing the kid, my partner texted his coworker and apologized. Lol.

[Chemisse]

75. LOL! That is pretty funny.

It's hard to understand if you aren't around little kids, and easy to forget after you have successfully raised your kids.

Good for your partner for conceding the point.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

76. Good for my partner keeping me from tossing the kid in the shark tank.

Last edited Mon Apr 17, 2017, 09:19 PM - Edit history (1)

Me and the kid both needed a nap.

3 big attractions in one day was too much.

[pnwmom]

78. And that was just one active kid who multiple adults were trying to watch.

I'm glad to hear that your partner wasn't afraid to adjust his opinions when faced with clear evidence.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

86. We had a good laugh over it.

[pnwmom]

88. We are relearning everything

with young grandchildren now. And it really feels that we need at least a 1 to 1 adult/child ratio. I don't know how I ever managed 3 kids like this:

[obamanut2012]

25. I have stayed at the Westin and eaten in the Sundial -- it is the parents' fault

And, what parent sends their five-year-old off to the bathroom alone???

Plus, the wall moves sooooo slowly there is no way the child was accidentally sucked into a mechanism or something.

HUGE amount of restaurant within a block or two of the Westin, from cheap family to fancy. There is also a Starbucks in the lobby with salads, sandwiches, etc., and also a good room service menu.

[pnwmom]

79. Where did you read that the child was in the bathroom alone? He was a few feet away

from his parents when it happened, and the wall wasn't moving that slowly -- you can see in the video.

The table was stuck too close to the wall. They had six adults trying to move the table, according to reports. It should have been easy to move it with all the adults -- so it was probably fixed in place.

[luvMIdog]

32. QFT nt

[treestar]

67. It's like victim blaming of any kind

it is designed to make the person feel safer: "this will never happen to me, because I would not have taken the kid there, been watching the kid better," etc.

[pnwmom]

80. EXACTLY. People have to be smug and judgmental, or otherwise

they'd have to admit that just stepping outside every day is a risk. Bad stuff happens to perfectly good people.

[pnwmom]

19. And no-nothing people are just as judgmental, i see.

Any parent who claims he never took his eyes off his child for a couple seconds is not being honest. It is simply NOT POSSIBLE to keep your eyes glued to your child every waking minute. And it is that much harder if you have more than one child.

The police are not blaming the parents, and they're the ones who investigated.

[cannabis_flower]

23. If you teach your kids

at home to sit at the table at dinner and not to get up and roam around it's much easier to keep them seated at a table at a restaurant. My parents didn't seem to have any problems with that and there were 4 of us. If we caused problems at the restaurant, my mom asked us if we wanted to go sit in the car (with her) until we could behave. I can't remember any of us having to go sit in the car more than once.

[pnwmom]

26. Yeah, right. Your parents were perfect and so were you. And none of you ever

took your eyes off any one of your children for a single second.

The rest of us live in the real world, where tragedies can happen despite everyone's best efforts.

[paleotn]

29. Not perfect, just vigilant

Greatly reduces the chances of something terrible happening. Usually mom had to just snap her fingers and we froze. Different world I guess.

[pnwmom]

39. And yet terrible things happen to good parents. You don't know anything about this family

or how careful they were with their children. This accident only took a few seconds to occur.

[bitterross]

30. I'm just waiting to hear about the lawsuit the parents file

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to hear about the parents filing a lawsuit for negligence on the part of the restaurant. This is what typically happens in these cases.

Will you be defending them still if they decide to blame the restaurant?

[pnwmom]

41. Without knowing more about the design that allowed this to happen, how would I know?

We don't know who decided to place benches this close to the window or install tables that required 6 adults to move them.

[flotsam]

47. I'll say this...

if his head got stuck between the wall and a table, I would assume the table is fixed to the floor. And if that IS the case then what you have is an unprotected pinch point without guarding which is a no-no in the design of factory machines that draws OSHA fines to protect even skilled workers. If this is the case there will be a lawsuit and it should be massive.

[pnwmom]

48. Thank you flotsam. I could never have expressed this as well as you did,

from your informed perspective, but this is what I was trying to suggest.

And welcome to DU!

[Girard442]

50. Exactly. Children shouldn't be unruly but adults shouldn't build things that kill unruly children.

[cstanleytech]

90. Not necessarily, the table could have been next to a pillar and the pillar

might have been what prevented the table from being moved.

wall + object + table + pillar + <-------- rotation.

[flotsam]

91. Perhaps

But I do know a design failure when I see one. This outcome seems easily foreseeable.

[cstanleytech]

92. Nothing is easy when it involves people. nt

[roamer65]

7. I agree.

[alanbudda]

11. Restaurant

I agree with your comments totally. No child should be allowed to get out of their seat much less roam unattended in a restaurant.

[IronLionZion]

12. Agreed, I feel sorry for the child who didn't deserve this

but the parents are responsible for watching their children.

[pnwmom]

18. If kids don't belong here, why do they offer a KIDS' MENU?

You don't sound "sorry." You sound judgmental.

http://www.sundialrestaurant.com/restaurant/childrens-menu/

[cannabis_flower]

21. They belong there if..

they can stay in their seat and not scream and cry the whole time they are there. That would be different for a
each child. I suggest that there are some 3 year olds that would be just fine and some 12 year olds that should be left home.

[paleotn]

31. Totally agree

[pnwmom]

49. There is no suggestion that this 5 year old was screaming and crying or otherwise

bothering any other guests at the restaurant (of which there were very few, after 3 pm.)

Till he managed to get his head stuck between the wall and the bench.

[Demit]

33. ? The restaurant wants to make as much money as it can.

Offering a childrens' menu isn't saying Hey, parents, we want you to think of our restaurant as being just like Ronald McDonald's!

It used to be that you took your children to a nice restaurant to show them that there were different ways of behaving when they were in certain places.

[pnwmom]

35. It's a hotel restaurant. Travelers often travel with children and this restaurant offers a menu

for children. It doesn't discourage them.

[nini]

55. I almost got into a fight once because I dared to tell someone's little darling..

to sit down after a waitress almost tripped over that kid with a full tray of food coming out of the kitchen.

The mother was a total snot. Tried to get at me until I stood up next to her. I'm almost 6 feet tall and I wasn't having her crap.

[RedWedge]

63. It's a fucking hotel restaurant.

[Coventina]

17. I agree on both your points, completely. Unwise parents seem to think the world comes

pre-inspected and safe-guarded for their kids.

It does not.

Frankly, a child that young does NOT belong in that restaurant. It was boring for him, which is why he ran off.
Poor parenting equaled death in this instance.

I sympathize completely with the child, and fee horror for what he must have gone through in his final moments.

I feel very sorry for other members of the family. But right now all I feel is anger toward the parents.

on edit: I meant to reply to cannabis flower.

[pnwmom]

20. The restaurant thinks they belong -- they have a CHILDREN'S MENU.

http://www.sundialrestaurant.com/restaurant/childrens-menu/

[cannabis_flower]

22. See comment 21

[Coventina]

37. Still doesn't excuse the parents for letting their kid roam around alone.

[pnwmom]

38. They were in a half empty restaurant, after a late lunch, and he was a few steps away

looking at the view from a bench by the window.

Don't tell me, if you were a parent, you never took your eyes away from any of your children for even a few seconds. I know that's not possible if you have more than one kid.

[randome]

44. I know the first thing I think when I walk into a restaurant with my daughters is...

...what are the ways this establishment can kill or maim my children? I agree completely with you.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"Everybody is just on their feet screaming 'Kill Kill Kill'! This is -hockey- Conservative values!"
-Slap Shot (1977)[/center][/font][hr]

[Coventina]

46. Well, I suppose I can't render a definitive opinion without seeing the scene of the incident.

It it was such an obvious hazard, as is claimed in some posts, then they should not have let their kid leave the table unattended.

If it were truly a "freak" accident, then I would categorize it as a tragedy.

But still, the bottom line is, the safety of your kid is your responsibility. My sympathies lie with the child, who's final moments were terror and pain.

[pnwmom]

51. Local TV station: "Boy, 5, killed in freak accident at Atlanta revolving restaurant"

If it was an obvious hazard, as some may claim, then the restaurant would have done something to mitigate it.

But it WAS a freak accident that neither the restaurant nor the parents anticipated. It was after 3, the boy was just a few feet away from his parents, and it happened very quickly.

http://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Boy-5-killed-in-freak-accident-at-Atlanta-revolving-restaurant-419596323.html

According to police, Charlie wandered off a few feet from his parents and got lodged between the rotating floor and a wall, WBTV reports.

“Just very tragic,” said Sgt.Warren Pickard of the Atlanta Police Department. “I simply think he lost sight of his parents and panicked, and found himself in that situation. A small child doesn’t know what to do in those moments.”

[Coventina]

57. See, there's that word "wandered". Children should never be "wandering" in a restaurant.

The circumstances don't matter.

If he was "wandering" and the parents weren't paying attention, then that's on them.

I don't suppose that they were watching him "wander" and just let it happen to him.

[pnwmom]

58. He was a few feet away from his parents, sitting on a bench, looking out the window,

not bothering anyone in a mostly empty restaurant.

The fact that the reporter used the word "wandered" doesn't change anything.

It's sickening to see people here blaming the heartbroken parents. The lack of compassion . . .. .

[Coventina]

65. I feel sorry for them. But I feel sorrier for the kid. n/t

[pnwmom]

68. His suffering is over. They'll suffer the rest of their lives. nt

[Coventina]

69. He was robbed of his life. He was the child, they were the adults.

They made their choices, and he's the one who suffered, accidentally though it was.

[pnwmom]

70. Do you have any children? Can you say that you never turned your back on any of them,

even for a few seconds? Or got distracted for a minute?

No, you can't, not if you're a truthful person.

[Coventina]

74. I already said my sympathies were divided. Maybe 70/30 for the kid.

Why are you so personally offended by that?

In answer to your question: I have no living children. My only child died of natural causes.

[pnwmom]

77. My parents lost a baby -- not through anything they did wrong

(unless getting a vaccination is wrong) -- and I saw what it did to them for the rest of their lives.

I know what these parents will suffer. Their child's suffering is over and theirs will never end.

[Coventina]

81. I don't dispute that at all. I just happen to feel that the child lost more.

I happen to feel his situation involved more suffering (granted, for a shorter period of time).

I feel sorrier for him than his parents.

Obviously, you feel differently. Different people have different points of view. Seemingly, I'm just as puzzled by your perspective as you are by mine.

[pnwmom]

82. What bothers me are the smug, self-satisfied, judgmental comments.

The "it would never happen to me because I'm a better parent" attitude.

They know nothing about these parents except their child suffered an accidental death.

I'm in the "but for the grace of God' camp. Tragedies can and do happen despite the most loving, attentive care.

[Coventina]

84. I think there is a large segment of society that is tired of

parents allowing their kids to run wild in public, especially in ill-suited environments.

It is a thing that happens a lot.

When people see a seemingly elegant setting and read that the child wandered off, it's easy to make assumptions.

I'll plead guilty, just because I've seen such things happen (though not with the tragic outcome).

But, your point is very true. A horrible accident can happen anywhere at any time.

My father was at a pool party as a child where another child drowned. There were 50+ people there.
No one noticed that the child had not come to the surface in a while. He was under about 10 minutes, probably, before his sister noticed he hadn't moved. And his parents were there, standing right by the pool.

How can that happen with so many people? The truth is, it probably happened because of so many people. Everyone assumes that "someone else" is watching.

[pnwmom]

85. Yes! I know of a family in a similar situation.

They were visiting friends and, unknown to them, the friends had a swimming pool. While they were talking the 2 year old walked off. They just turned around and he was gone. They searched the whole house and couldn't find him anywhere. That took precious minutes.

Then they went outside and there was a swimming pool, underneath a pool cover.

He was floating face down below the cover. The water was so cold it saved his life. But there were some harrowing days in the hospital till they knew he'd be okay. And even then they couldn't be sure if there might be brain damage.

And I myself almost lost a child due to a defective crib design. I found him with the crib side across his neck -- alive. The crib had been fine for my first 2 children but could have killed my third. It turns out that I didn't know it but the Consumer product Safety division had issued a recall on my crib -- so I guess some people would have blamed me if my child had been injured or killed. (And crib standards were again upgraded in 2011, so no crib produced before then should be used.)

Anyway, it's easier for some to blame parents than to face the fact that life is risky and accidents happen.

[Danmel]

87. I'm with you pnwmom

Lot of self-righteousness here.

[alwaysinflux]

40. He was less than 5 feet away from them

...and they were the last patrons in the restaurant around 3 in the afternoon, so nobody to disturb. Watch the video. Unbelievable.

http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/248669966-story

[pnwmom]

43. Thanks for the reality check. And welcome to DU!

[alwaysinflux]

45. Thanks! :)

[obamanut2012]

24. I've stayed at teh Westin and eaten in teh sundial

1. It isn't a place for small kids -- it's very fancy and expensive, and

2. And... the wall moves very slower.

[pnwmom]

27. Small kids travel with their parents and that restaurant has a KIDS menus.

With items like plain noodles with red sauce; and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

[alwaysinflux]

42. It actually moves very fast

I was shocked to see how fast in a video. I have never been in a rotating restaurant like that.

[bettyellen]

56. I thought they were all designed at the same slow speed? Takes about an hour for one rotation so

That most patrons will get a full panorama view.

[Phentex]

66. I found it to be slow but

my son got "seasick" when we took him to eat there. He was about 11 or 12 and he's pretty sensitive to motion. I never felt it moving but you can see the skyline change.

[mainer]

28. Calvin Trillin once said: "Never eat in a rotating restaurant."

But he was talking about the general horribleness of the food.

[Sunlei]

34. My heart goes out to the Family. I think the restaurant should move away from window any "wedges"

people and especially kids want to look out at the view. If table corners were even a foot further away this wouldn't have happened.

[pnwmom]

36. Yup. It was a design flaw waiting to happen. And it took 6 people to move the table out of the way.

[OldHippieChick]

59. I don't know if anyone else has ever had a body part trapped, but

one would think something else would have happened in the 40 years this restaurant has existed if it were truly a design flaw waiting to happen. I'm not arguing w/ you and I am not blaming the parents. It certainly helps to have all the facts before making a judgment. For instance, the fact that the restaurant was nearly empty and the child was only 5 feet away is significant. If the child had only been 2, I would blame the parents, but 5 is pretty old and can understand things like "no". At the same time though, I would not want to immediately blame the restaurant for a design flaw when nothing like this has happened in 40 years. Sometimes a freak accident is just a freak and tragic accident.

[pnwmom]

60. I had a crib with a design flaw. The springs under the mattress could detach

and the child's head could slip threw the opening that was created -- and then strangle to death.

Cribs with this design (the springs attached by hooks to the posts) were used for many DECADES before the government mandated a design change -- because children were dying.

[OldHippieChick]

61. Okay, anything is possible and perhaps it is a design flaw,

but you don't know that any more than we don't know if those parents were drinking their lunch and not paying any attention to their child.

[pnwmom]

62. I don't know. And that's why it bothers me to see so many people piling on the bereaved parents.

This was a 5 year old, just a few feet away from his restaurant, sitting on a bench and looking out the window. What parent literally keeps her eyes on her child every waking second?

What makes you think the parents weren't "paying any attention to their child"? This accident only took a few seconds to happen, and no parent of a 5 year old keeps their eyes glued to them every single second.

If you tell me you never once turned your back on your child I don't believe you.

[OldHippieChick]

72. I didn't say that and I'm not claiming I never

took my eyes off my child. All I am saying is that there is just as little evidence that this was a design flaw as there is that the parents were negligent. Rarely would I defend a corporation but I also won't assume they are guilty of anything until there is proof of same. Goose/gander

[pnwmom]

73. And yet what we immediately saw here were DUers piling on the parents -- not the possibility

that this accident could have something to do with the environment itself.

[Danmel]

83. My heart goes out to this little boy's parents

I never let my kids run around in restaurants. If they were loud, I took them outside, but when my daughter was 3, we were in Disneyworld and one second she was right next to us & the next second she wasn't. I still can feel the utter panic that completely overtook me when I realized she was gone. They actually locked the park down. When we found her a few minutes later,she was sitting, happy as could be, in Mickey's Starland Village.
It's really easy to judge people's parenting skills, but it is not quite as easy as it seems.