Altamont, IL-(Effingham Radio)- The following was released on Sunday from the Effingham County Fair’s Facebook page:
“At this time we send our deepest thoughts and prayers to a spectator and her family after an accident occurred at our horse races this afternoon. We are taking this matter seriously and have postponed or cancelled the remaining races for the day.
Here at the Effingham County Fair we are working closely with local law enforcement and emergency personnel. This is not taken lightly. Processes and procedures will be reviewed once the investigation is complete.
The Jeffer’s Memorial Races are postponed till 11am tomorrow, Monday July 31st, and the remaining races are cancelled.”
If you would like to help the family you can by visiting this Go Fund Me Page.
The Effingham County Fair Also shared updates on the harness racing for the rest of the week on their Facebook page:
“Due to the tragedy at Sunday’s races at Altamont, the cards from Sunday as well as Monday are being totally cancelled. A decision for having races Tuesday through Friday at the Effingham Co. Fair will be made sometime today. We will not take any entries for Thursday or Friday’s card until that decision is made. Thank you for your understanding.”
Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns also released a statement this morning:
“An incident Sunday afternoon at the Effingham County Fairgrounds in Altamont resulted in a serious injury to 5 year old Harper L. Finn of Altamont. Harper was taken from the fairgrounds by ambulance and air-lifted to St. Louis.
On July 30th at 1:05PM, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an incident at the Effingham County Fairgrounds. A horse racing pace car, owned by Michael D. Titus of Charleston, and driven by Jerry W. Young of Jackson, MS, struck Harper Finn with an extended starting gate while passing the grandstand. Harper was in the grandstand when the accident occurred. She was transported from the scene by A-1 Ambulance of Altamont, to HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital, and later air-lifted to St. Louis Children’s Hospital by ARCH Air Medical.
Harper Finn’s condition is unknown at the time of this release.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Altamont Police Department, A-1 Ambulance Service, Altamont Fire Protection District, and the Effingham County Fair Board.”
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