Father says 6-year-old daughter choked while riding zip line at Ga. adventure park

NEWNAN, Ga. — A father says a fun time at an adventure park turned into a frightening time when he noticed ropes from a ride were choking his daughter. The father says he had to rescue her after no workers came to help.

“She was crying, screaming for her life,” Michael Wilbourn told Channel 2′s Tom Jones.

Wilbourn says he was about to lose his mind when he saw ropes from an adventure park ride wrapped around his 6-year-old daughter’s neck.

“I couldn’t breathe,” Bria recalled.

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“I look up and see her crying. ‘Daddy, I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe,’” Wilbourn described.

Wilbourn says the frightening moments happened at the Urban Air Adventure Park in Newnan on Tuesday.

He says it started out as a fun day at the park. The family recorded video of Bria rock climbing. They also snapped a photo of her about to get on the Skyrider, a zipline ride.

Wilbourn says that’s when everything changed. After Bria got on the ride, he heard her screaming. That’s when he says he saw the ropes choking her.

He says he jumped on a counter, then on some netting and climbed about 12 feet up to rescue her.

“I had to put my arms between her legs and keep the pressure off her neck to swivel her around like this,” he demonstrated how he had to twist her to unwrap the ropes.

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Wilbourn wasn’t happy he had to spring into action and there were no employees around to help.

“Regardless of how it happened, it should have been somebody there to jump into motion right then,” he insisted.

He says Bria is still shaken but okay. The father wonders what would have happened if he wasn’t there.

“I believe my baby would have died,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Urban Air Adventure Park shared this statement: “The uncompromising safety of our guests and employees is our highest priority. And we are so grateful that she was able to stay in the park and play.”

Wilbourn says they tried to make the best of what happened but Bria complained of neck pain. He says that’s when they called paramedics to the park to check her out. The father says they then left the park.

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