Antioch rallies around family of 10-year-old thrown from festival ride

ANTIOCH – Facing a “long road to recovery,” a 10-year-old boy thrown from a carnival ride July 16 has the support of the Antioch community.

Community members have rallied around the Antioch family and hosted fundraisers, including an Aug. 10 collaboration between business owners throughout the village.

The final concert of Antioch’s “It’s Thursday” summer concert series was dedicated to Huntley Daniels and his family. Daniels spent more than a week in the hospital after being flung from a carnival ride at the Taste of Antioch Festival.

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Courtney Zabrin, of Palatine holds her daughter, Nora, sixteen-months-old, as she puts a donation into the box in front of the stage during the final concert of the "It’s Thursday” summer concert series featuring the cover band, Mike & Joe, on August 10th in Antioch. The event and its proceeds were dedicated to Huntley, a child who was injured during the Taste of Summer in July. Photo by Candace H. Johnson for Shaw Local News Network (Candace H.Johnson)

Since then, community members have done what they can to help.

As more and more business owners reached out looking to support the family, village leaders decided to host a joint fundraiser, Village of Antioch business development manager Mark Sural said.

“It was less about each individual business and more about coming together as a community,” Sural said. “The idea was to link arms and do this together for the right reasons, to do what we can do as a community.”

The Aug. 10 fundraising event drew several thousand people to downtown Antioch. Featuring a performance by rock cover band Mike & Joe, the event included food and drinks, as well as raffles and other activities.

At least 26 raffle prizes – ranging from business gift cards to donated services to Bears tickets to a bicycle – were given out.

“It hit really close to home for me,” said Heather Fenzel, owner of Family Heirloom Antiques in Antioch. Fenzel joined other business owners in helping to organize the event.

“I have two young kids very close in age to Huntley and it was just so tragic,” Fenzel said. “An event that should be fun and exciting and a memory just turned into something so tragic for this family.”

The concert event drew not only community members, but people from beyond Antioch, she said, and it brought together business owners.

“To see everyone there in one space was extraordinary,” she said. “It was just very cool to see us all working together as one for the greater good. … We all felt that we needed to help out this family. By joining forces, we can make a larger impact for this family.”

Notes and cards were collected to give to the family and a plexiglass box near the stage collected donations.

“As a resident of Antioch for 40 years, I just think we’re growing in our population, but at the same time, we still have these small-town values and this really tight-knit community that wants to help their neighbor and come together and do the right thing,” Sural said. “It just shows the fabric of our community.”

The amount raised has yet to be released, he said, as the village sets up a trust to give the funds to the family. All profits will go toward aiding Huntley’s treatment and the other needs of his family during his recovery process, village leaders said.

“I am moved by the overwhelming support the Antioch community has shown for Huntley and his family,” Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner said. “Together, we stand strong, committed to providing him and his family with assistance. This event is a testament to the strength of our community bonds.”

Huntley has returned home, but faces a “long road to recovery,” according to a GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/wrhnpr-huntley created by the boy’s uncle, Robert Pholman. As of this week, almost $48,000 of a $75,000 goal had been raised.

“My sister and his father will be out of work for a time that will make paying for the unknown amount of surgery my nephew will need almost impossible,” Pohlman wrote. “Anything helps. Funds will be used to pay medical fees and if there’s any left over, that will be saved for him when he recovers.”

Huntley was thrown at least 10 feet in the air from the Moby Dick ride and suffered critical injuries. A LifeNet medical helicopter took him to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. He later was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago for further treatment because of the extent of his injuries.

About a dozen police offers, firefighters and paramedics who responded were recognized by Gartner at a July 26 Village Board meeting.

Gaining national attention, the tragedy has resulted in an outpouring of support.

“[My sister] would like to extend her deepest gratitude for everyone’s support,” Pholman wrote. “You really don’t know how much it means to her and him that they are in so many people’s prayers. All messages get screenshot and sent to her for him to see. I’m sure it’s hard for him to believe that people from all over the world are thinking about him. So again, thank you all!”