When your mates say to you: “Heard of the ’roundabout of death’? Wanna try it?” The answer should be immediate: “Not a chance, mate”. The name alone gives the impression that things aren’t going to end well.
But when it comes to kids, things are always a little different – you might feel old, jaded, and increasingly in fear of your own mortality, but youngsters tend to be more curious about these things, not to mention under the illusion that they’re somehow indestructible.
Presumably, none of this ran through the mind of 11-year-old Tyler Broome when he tried the aforementioned stunt – he just wanted to give it a go. But now the youngster has been left with horrific injuries consistent with those seen in fighter pilots.
He was encouraged to recreate the YouTube stunt known as the ’roundabout of death’ – and was later found unconscious near a playground roundabout, left with possible damage to his brain and vision.
The young boy had been encouraged to sit in the middle of the roundabout as it was spun at high speed using the rear wheel of a motorcycle by a group of youths.
It is believed he was seriously injured after being subjected to extreme levels of gravitational force – or G-force – normally only experienced by pilots and astronauts.
It’s thought that the G-force forced fluid and blood into the youngster’s brain, causing damage to his vision and giving him bulging eyes.
In shocking footage circulating online, Tyler appears to have passed out during the ride but the teens around him do not appear to realize and continued to rev the engine.
Tyler was at a local park with his friend when the pair were approached by a group of older teenagers – one with a motorcycle, according to Tyler’s mum, Dawn Hollingworth.
Dawn, 51, says the group tried to recreate the YouTube stunt in which the rear wheel of a motorbike is placed against the roundabout to spin it at high speed on Wednesday.
She says Tyler was encouraged to sit in the middle of the roundabout while it was sent spinning, subjecting the boy to enormous G-forces. Dawn is now waiting by his bedside and hoping that the swelling in his brain will subside.
Dawn, of Tuxford, Nottinghamshire, said: “I don’t recognize my child – he is on the verge of having a stroke. Tyler sat on the roundabout, and the boy who came over was about 17. Tyler doesn’t know him, they are not friends.
“He puts his motorbike on the floor and gets the roundabout spinning at such a speed. When they all stopped, the group just cleared off – it is bullying.”
Tyler had to be immediately rushed to the Queens Medical Centre, in Nottingham for treatment for severe injuries. Dawn claims his injuries were so rare hospital staff had never witnessed this before and had to research it before they could treat him.
Dawn adds: “The injuries were so extreme, he just looked like the Elephant Man. They have never seen it before, they are going to make a medical report from it. “His head has completely swelled up, his blood vessels have burst, and his eyes look alien. His vision is blurry. You can manage a broken arm but this? He doesn’t remember it, he doesn’t remember the detail.”
The original ‘Roundabout of Death’ video, which has over seven million views on YouTube, shows two people getting on a roundabout feature in a park, while another revs a motorbike which causes it to spin at an alarming rate of speed.
Dawn wrote on Facebook: “A decent young lad who I only know as Liam who lives in Tuxford who entered the park and saw my son laying on the ground ran and called an ambulance.
“My son remains in hospital with the threat of a stroke if his head swelling doesn’t go down to release the pressure. “I could have easily lost my son tonight and wouldn’t want any parent going through what my family is tonight.”
Dawn adds: “The bruises will take four to six weeks but doctors just don’t know how long internal symptoms will take.
“We are just taking each day as it comes. “There needs to be some discussion about banning these videos after what’s happened to my son.”
A Nottinghamshire police spokesman said: “Police are investigating after a boy sustained serious head injuries at a park in Tuxford Wednesday (12 September). The boy fell off a roundabout in Ashvale Park after a moped is believed to have been used to spin it around.
“The boy remains at the QMC in a serious but stable condition. If anyone has any video footage of the incident or was in the area at the time, please call us on 101, quoting incident number 62 of 13 September 2018.”