Child who died in freak accident at revolving rooftop restaurant identified

ATLANTA — A 5-year-old boy died from a head injury after he was caught in the rotator wall at the Sun Dial restaurant on the 72nd floor of the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta on Friday, officials said.

The boy, identified as Charlie Holt, got caught between the revolving floor and a wall at the restaurant. The revolving floor automatically shut off and Westin's security staff and employees were able to dislodge the child, but he had critical injuries.

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Charlie was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, according to Atlanta fire spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford. He was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m.

The boy was with his parents, who are visiting from Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta Police Department spokesman Sgt. Warren Pickard told WSB.

The 5-year-old boy who died at rotating restaurant in Atlanta, has been identified as Charlie Holt. (Photo: The Holt family)

Atlanta police spokeswoman Officer Stephanie Brown said that, at some point, the boy wandered away from the table where his parents were seated near a window.

A guest services representative with the hotel said the Sun Dial will be closed until further notice.

The hotel manager, George Reed, released the following statement:

There was a tragic accident at the hotel involving a young boy. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

As soon as we learned of the accident, we immediately responded until emergency personnel arrived. We are working with the authorities as they look into this tragic accident and we will continue to assist them in any way we can. Words cannot express the depths of our sorrow. Our thoughts remain with the family.

“The family asks for prayers and privacy right now to come to terms with this tragedy,” a family spokesperson said. “No words can express their loss.”

The Sun Dial, an iconic restaurant that opened in 1976, features a revolving restaurant, a rotating cocktail lounge and an observatory level that offers a 360-degree panorama of the skyline from 723 feet, according to its website.

The Westin is the same hotel in which a kitchen worker died after getting locked in a freezer last year.

Carolyn Robinson, 61, who worked for the Westin company for more than 35 years, got locked in a walk-in freezer just after 8 p.m. March 22.

Cox Media Group