Revolving restaurant had no protections to stop boy's death, lawsuit says

The company accused of negligence after a 5-year-old died at the Sun Dial restaurant had no comment Friday about a lawsuit filed against it.

“Due to the pending litigation, we are not commenting on the matter,” Marriott International, Inc. spokesman Jeff Flaherty told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an email.

The parents of Charlie Holt, who died from a head injury after he was caught in the rotating wall at the restaurant atop the Westin Peachtree Plaza, filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming negligence against the restaurant and hotel.

The lawsuit alleges the restaurant failed to prevent a "longstanding safety hazard" that led to the child's death and disputes initial claims the boy wandered away from his family.

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Marriott International, Inc., which owns the Westin Peachtree Hotel and the Sun Dial restaurant, and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, LLC were named in the suit.

“The Sun Dial had no protections to stop children from getting close to the pinch point or to stop the rotation of the floor if a child became trapped in the pinch point,” the lawsuit states.

Charlie Holt was visiting Atlanta with his parents, Rebecca and Michael Holt from Charlotte, North Carolina, April 14 when he was caught between a wall and table as the dining area rotated. The family was seated near a window, but Atlanta police said the boy wandered away from the table.

Westin security staff and employees freed the child, police said, but he later died at Grady Memorial Hospital from a crushed skull.

The Holt family’s attorney, Joe Fried, said Charlie did not leave his family, contrary to police statements.

“The family was leaving the restaurant together after paying their bill,” Fried said in an email to The AJC late Thursday. “They were walking to the exit, following the same path that the hostess used to walk them to their table and that they used to walk to and from the restroom earlier. Charlie was only a few steps ahead.”

Fried said the path was blocked when a booth rotated near a stationary interior wall, trapping Charlie between the booth and wall.

Rebecca and Michael Holt rushed to help Charlie, but he was stuck.

“By the time someone could manually stop the rotation, it was too late,” Fried said. “Charlie’s head had been pulled into the narrow pinch point and he suffered catastrophic head trauma, right in front of his parents.”

The lawsuit alleges there was no guard to prevent people from getting trapped and no emergency stop button on the wall or automatic safety cutoff.

The family is seeking unspecified punitive damages and a trial.

Cox Media Group