Water Ball Safety Questioned After Girl Nearly Dies

KINGSTON (CBS) - The state is taking a look at the safety of a popular water amusement ride at local malls after a young girl nearly died.

The Water Ball puts kids inside an airtight inflatable ball to walk, run or jump on water.

At the Independence Mall in Kingston on Sunday, a girl stopped breathing inside one of them.

According to the police report, the unidentified girl suddenly became unresponsive inside a bubble as it moved across the water.

Jamie Gavin witnessed the frightening scene and called 911.

"She was completely blue and completely limp and she needed several minutes of CPR," she told WBZ-TV.

"I thought she was dead when they pulled her out."

"This little girl didn't have breathable air in there, she was not breathing that whole time."

EMT's were able to revive the girl who, sources told WBZ-TV, may have had a pre-existing condition.

She was taken to a hospital, but there is no word on her recovery.

Investigators are trying to determine if she lost consciousness because of the ride or for some other reason.

The Water Ball site at the mall has been shut down.

However, it can still be found at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis and the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough.

The state is now taking a closer look at the ride.

"We are reading and interpreting our current law to determine if we can classify the so-called "waterball" as an amusement device. That designation would allow us to either regulate their use or ban them altogether," Terrell Harris of the Executive Office of Safety and Security told WBZ-TV in a statement.