A 5-year-old boy from La Plata, Maryland, is dead after a bounce house at the Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf was blown into the air while children were playing inside Friday night, officials said.
First responders from Charles County were called after 9:20 p.m. while kids were playing in a moon bounce house at the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball game.
A spokeswoman for the county said a wind gust blew the moon bounce anywhere from 15 to 20 feet high while an unknown number of kids were playing inside, “causing children to fall before it landed on the playing field.”
“Charles County EMS personnel, who were already stationed at the stadium for the game, along with trainers from the baseball team and several Volunteer first responders who were in attendance, swiftly began patient care within minutes of the incident,” the county said in a news release Saturday.
The county said the 5-year-old boy was critically injured in the incident. He was later pronounced dead after being flown to Children’s National Hospital in D.C.
A second child was also injured when the moon bounce went airborne but is expected to survive.
“We extend our deepest empathy to the children and their families during this difficult time. We thank our EMS team and the Maryland State Police for their swift actions to ensure the children received immediate care,” Charles County Government Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins II said in a statement.
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs postponed Saturday night game and Sunday’s game following the moon bounce incident. The team also said it was “offering counseling and support to families, players, and fans who attended” Friday night’s game.
“Our entire organization shares our condolences with the family mourning the loss of a child, and concern for the child who was injured,” said Courtney Knichel, the team’s general manager. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.”
“All of a sudden, I saw the bounce house come flying through the air,” said Marie Ragano, who was in the stadium for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs game, attending a “Faith and Family Night” event.
From her view near and along the third baseline, she said the bounce house appeared to flip on the right field, tossing something out of the house and onto the field.
“As it came flying through the air, I saw something fly out of it. But I didn’t know if it was a child or not until I saw both teams’ players go running out into right field,” Ragano told WTOP.
Ragano said her family left about 20 minutes after people realized that at least one child was hurt, telling WTOP that she just wanted to get out of the way so emergency services could aid the injured kids.
“I’m really sad,” she said holding back tears. “That a child’s out there playing … something like that happens. It’s just so sad.”
“We go to carnivals and stuff. You always wonder … is everything put together correctly?,” Ragano said. “You see these bounce houses flying through the air all the time on the news, so I’m not quite sure why this wasn’t anchored better.”
WTOP’s Bryan Albin contributed to this report.
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