Peloton is urging customers to keep their kids away from its devices after a child was killed following an accident involving its Tread+ treadmill.
“I’m reaching out to you today because I recently learned about a tragic accident involving a child and the Tread+, resulting in, unthinkably, a death,” Peloton CEO John Foley wrote in a customer support note. He didn’t go into details, citing user privacy. But he said the death was among a “small handful” of incidents the company is aware of involving the Tread+.
One of those accidents was filed last month with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. A 3-year-old boy ended up trapped under a Tread+ machine, and was found by his father “to be not breathing, and pulseless,” the report states. The boy was later resuscitated, but suffered significant brain injury. Tread marks on his face were also matched the slats of the treadmill.
Foley said his company builds all products with safety in mind. Nevertheless, he’s urging customers to keep both children and pets away from the company’s exercise machines.
“Before you begin a workout, double check to make sure that the space around your Peloton exercise equipment is clear,” he added. “When you finish a workout on your Tread+, remove the safety key and store it out of reach of children and anyone else who should not be able to start the Tread+.”
Peloton’s products have been in high demand due to COVID-19 causing millions of Americans to work and study from home. But as CNN notes, exercise machines at home can pose a hazard when children are nearby; a 2014 study from the National Institutes of Health estimated that each year about 25,000 children under the age of 10 suffer injuries due to mechanical exercise equipment.
Peloton says the Tread+ is designed for "people over the age of 16, weighing over 105 pounds."