A 17-month-old girl was taken to Longmont United Hospital on Saturday evening after falling out of a carnival ride at the Boulder County Fair and being dragged a short distance.

Sgt. Rick Brough, with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, said the girl stood up in one of the cars on a kiddie-car ride and fell out.

He said the operator of the ride — which is made up of stationary cars that go around in circles — told authorities that the child was dragged for about 5 feet before the ride was stopped.

The girl was taken to Longmont United Hospital and released within an hour or so without serious injuries, according to Boulder County Fair Board Vice President Beth Witzak.

She said an eyewitness told her the child attempted to leave the car in which she was seated in order to get to her mother, who was waiting for her at the side of the ride.

It wasn't clear whether the toddler had been strapped in with a seat belt at the beginning of the ride or whether the restraint had come loose or been unbuckled by the girl.

It also wasn't clear whether the girl met the ride's height requirement of 36 inches.

The director of Crabtree Amusements, which has run the carnival at the Boulder County Fair for the past few years, could not be reached Sunday night.

Witzak said the fair will continue to investigate the incident to determine exactly what happened.

She said it's common for parents to pressure ride operators to allow their children on to a ride even if they don't meet the height requirement.

"We encourage people to take the staff seriously when it comes to safety restrictions," Witzak said.

She said a team of 10 people — including representatives from Crabtree, the fairgrounds and the fair, in addition to members of the county attorney's office, risk management office and sheriff's office — did a walk-through of the 20 rides in the carnival section Wednesday morning before the fair opened to the public.

"It was fairly thorough," Witzak said.

She said all seat belts on the rides were inspected and that two of them were replaced before the carnival opened for business.

"We will continue to make the fair as safe as possible," Witzak said.

According to news reports, a 9-year-old girl died in 2005 after falling off an Austin, Texas, carnival ride run by Crabtree Amusements, while a man was injured after falling from a Crabtree-operated roller coaster at the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo last fall.