Child Dead In 'Tragic Accident' Involving Peloton Treadmill; CEO John Foley Urges Caution

An accident involving a Peloton treadmill has led to a child's death, the company's chief executive announced on its website Thursday. The incident has prompted Peloton to issue a statement that warns its consumers to keep children away from their exercise equipment.

John Foley, the CEO and co-founder of Peloton, said about the tragic incident in a message to its customers on the company website and added that the accident involved its Tread+ treadmill.

Foley did not, however, divulge any more details regarding the tragedy but accepted that the company knows “a small handful of incidents” involving Tread+ where children have been hurt.

“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,” Foley said. “Keep children and pets away from Peloton exercise equipment at all times. Before you begin a workout, double-check to make sure that the space around your Peloton exercise equipment is clear,” he added.

Peloton shares fell about 5% in New York trading on Thursday, leaving the stock down more than 30% this year, reported news outlet Bloomberg.

A separate incident involving the Peloton treadmill was reported in February. According to a complaint filed with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a 3-year-old boy sustained a “significant brain injury” after he got trapped under the equipment.

“The boy was found to have marks on his back matching the slats of the treadmill, neck injury, and petechiae on his face, presumably from occlusion of blood flow,” according to the report.

“We urge Members to follow the Tread+ product warnings and safety instructions by keeping children and pets away from exercise equipment at all times, and to always remove the safety key when the Tread+ is not in use and store the safety key out of the reach of children,” Peloton responded to the report.

The company said that their Tread+ model is designed for use by people over the age of 16, weighing over 105 lbs. They also updated the report with a comment on March 17, confirming that the child involved is expected to fully recover from the accident. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that there were 17 deaths related to treadmill use between 2018 and 2020 in the United States.

Peloton is popular for its home workout bikes that have an inbuilt screen that allows exercisers to watch or record classes while they work out. Peloton’s stock climbed more than 400% in 2020 during the pandemic when people started to opt for home workouts, reported news outlet Washington Post.

Tread+ version of Peloton that retails for $4, 295 was introduced in 2018. The company had also revealed its plan to launch a lower-cost version of the same in May 2021.