Peloton has a bit of a PR crisis on its hands.
The company CEO announced Thursday that a child has been killed in a tragic accident involving a Peloton treadmill.
via People:
In a post on the company’s website, Peloton CEO John Foley announced that he “recently learned about a tragic accident involving a child and the Tread+, resulting in, unthinkably, a death.”
“While we are aware of only a small handful of incidents involving the Tread+ where children have been hurt, each one is devastating to all of us at Peloton, and our hearts go out to the families involved,” Foley added.
The Tread+ is Peloton’s latest treadmill model and features a large touchscreen and adjustable knobs to quickly change the belt’s speed.
Foley explained that the company “design[s] and build[s] all of our products with safety in mind,” but Peloton users must “take care to review and follow all the safety warnings and instructions that we provide.”
Peloton users are advised to keep children and pets away from all exercise equipment and check the space around the equipment before beginning a workout.
The note also encourages users to remove the Tread+ safety key and store it out of reach from children when not using the machine.
“We are always looking for new ways to ensure that you have the best experience with our products, and we are currently assessing ways to reinforce our warnings about these critical safety precautions to hopefully prevent future accidents,” Foley wrote.
He added that Peloton will not be releasing any additional information about the incident “out of respect for these families and their privacy.”
“Thank you so much for reading. We care deeply about your health and wellness … starting with your safety and the safety of your family,” Foley concluded the post.
A 2019 Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Electronic Injury Surveillance System report found that more than 400,000 Americans are treated in an average year for injuries related to exercise equipment. Over 6,000 of those injuries were to children between the ages of 0-4.
So sad. Our hearts go out to the family.
