11-year-old boy Tyler Broome made headlines all over the internet in 2018 when he was forced into a so-called ’roundabout of death’ while at the playground. The incident left him with serious injuries.
Tyler looked “like an alien”, according to his mother, Dawn Hollingworth, and he spent months in the hospital after the dangerous stunt.
Now, Tyler’s mother wants to warn all parents about the dangerous game in the hopes that it won’t happen again.
We’ve all been children; growing up is part of learning from your mistakes. No one does everything perfectly, and one time or another we’re guilty of doing something that couldn’t exactly be called a good idea, such as putting a hand on a hot stove or climbing a tree.
Tyler Broome – playground accident
Though we have all done stupid things as children, there’s one thing that should never be acceptable: bullying.
Peer pressure is a tough thing to stand up to as a child, especially if the people involved are older than you. It’s easy to talk about standing up for yourself in hindsight, but I believe that most of us can agree that when you’re young, it’s not as easy at it seems to say no.
Some cases of peer pressure can involve dangerous things. Even the most bright and intelligent kid can be convinced to do something that has very serious consequences. A perfect example is the case of 11-year-old Tyler Broome.
He wanted to show a group of teenage kids how fearless he was – his mother has labeled that group as “bullies”. Tyler climbed onto a playground roundabout in Tuxford, Nottinghamshire, England, while the other boys subjected him to high G-force via the wheel of a motorbike.
It ended badly for Tyler, who was found unconscious close to the roundabout with possible damage to his brain and vision.
It was believed that the 11-year-old boy had been subjected to the sort of G-force usually only encountered by astronauts and pilots.
“I don’t recognize my child”
Fortunately, a “decent lad” found Tyler passed out and quickly ran for help. The other teenagers, meanwhile, had shamefully “cleared off”. Tyler’s eyes were left bulging and bloodshot — weeks later, he still had blurred vision and was on anti-inflammatory medication.
Fluid and blood had been forced into the youngster’s brain, bursting blood vessels and leaving him with bulging eyes and damaged vision.
According to The Independent, Tyler had been at a local park with a friend when they were approached by a group of older teenagers who dared them to take part in the ‘game’.
“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,” mom Dawn Hollingworth said, as reported by The Independent.
“He puts his motorbike on the floor, gets the roundabout spinning at such a speed. When they all stopped, the group just cleared off – it is bullying.”
Dawn claimed that hospital staff had never seen such injuries and had to undertake research before they were able to begin treating her son. While he was recovering in the hospital, she took the time to thank all the well-wishers for their support.
“People have been wishing him well and asking if there is anything that can be done,” Tyler’s mother said.
“Other people have said ‘we can’t watch it’ and have sent messages of loveliness. Around 99 per cent of comments that we have got have been lovely.
Disturbing footage online
“There are lovely messages from people you have never met and I have been replying and thanking them for taking the time to care.”
The shocking footage of Tyler circulated online. The poor boy appeared to have passed out during the ride, but the elder boys didn’t appear to realize and continued to rev the motorbike’s engine.
According to the BBC, a 16-year-old boy was questioned under caution and a moped was seized.
“What may have seemed like ‘a bit of fun’ at the time has turned into an incident where an 11-year old boy has received horrific injuries,” Chief Inspector Andy Rooke told the BBC.
“We hope that this incident and the severity of the boy’s injuries serve as a strong warning to anyone thinking about recreating something they have seen online.”
A month after the tragic event, Tyler Broome’s mother gave a new update on her son. At that time, he was still being treated in hospital for the horrendous injuries he sustained.
Tyler’s mother said that the swelling was going down, however he still had blurred vision. The family hoped that would go away as the swelling disappeared.
Tyler Broome forced into counseling
“He is heading the right direction,” Dawn Hollingworth told the Daily Star.
“Tyler is really grateful for the messages too and it has kept me strong at the hospital,” she added, pleading for children not to take part in the dangerous stunt online.
“Just don’t do it, it may be fun for two seconds but that can turn to tragedy, so don’t do it.”
When Christmas arrived, Tyler was close to making a full recovery. In reflection, the boy has gotten a better perspective on just how close he actually was to passing away.
His mother said that Tyler has refused to watch the video; he hasn’t seen it once. Though the physical injuries haven’t given him scars for life, Tyler was left with mental problems. He needed regular counseling sessions to fully fathom what had really gone down.
“Our concern now is how he recovers from the incident mentally, but we won’t see how much it will affect him until he gets older,” his mother Dawn said.
As of January of 2019, Tyler had been able to move on with his life. He was still taking regular counseling sessions, but had managed to resume an active life that was critical in his recovery. He enrolled in a local rugby team, where the coaches made sure he didn’t suffer any bad head injuries.
“The only thing you can do as a parent is just take it in your stride and hope this doesn’t affect his adult life,” Dawn said.
More incidents with ’roundabout of death’ stunt
Despite the fact that Tyler’s mother shared both videos and pictures of Tyler’s injuries following the dangerous ’roundabout of death’ stunt, videos of children doing the same thing have emerged online since.
According to Lincolnshire Live, a boy from Wigan sustained headaches and red spots around his eyes which doctors said was due to spinning. Apparently, he too had been asked to ‘join in the game’ by older children at a park.
“I cannot believe that incidents like this are still happening,” Dawn said. “When photos that showed the extent of my son’s injuries, I thought that would stop children from ever doing this again.
“I demanded more internet regulation back in September, but nothing seems to have moved on since then.”
As per Dawn’s Facebook page, it seems like Tyler’s eyes have fully recovered after the horrific incident.
We hope that everyone – both children and adults – understand that such stunts are very dangerous. Fortunately, Tyler Broome made a full recovery, but others might not be as lucky.
Please, share this article on Facebook and let’s spread the word as to this very dangerous “game”. Together, we can prevent something like this from happening in the future.
