5-year-old dead after bounce house goes airborne in Maryland, lands on baseball field

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (WDCW) – A 5-year-old boy has died and another child was injured after a bounce house flew into the air and crashed onto a field during a baseball game in Maryland on Friday night.

At about 9:20 p.m. on Aug. 2, 911 operators received a call from the Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland, saying that a bounce house was carried airborne by a wind gust while kids were inside.

At the time of the incident, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball team was playing a game.

The bounce house flew about 15 to 20 feet into the air, causing the children to fall before it landed on the field.

Charles County EMS personnel, who were already at the stadium for the game, started patient care minutes after the incident took place.

A 5-year-old boy from La Plata suffered life-threatening injuries. He was transported to the hospital where he later died.

A second child was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

“We extend our deepest empathy to the children and their families during this difficult time,” said Charles County Government Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins, II, Esq. “We thank our EMS team and the Maryland State Police for their swift actions to ensure the children received immediate care.”

Courtney Knichel, the General Manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, said, “Our entire organization shares our condolences with the family mourning the loss of a child, and concern for the child who was injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.”

The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs postponed the baseball games on Saturday and Sunday as a result of the incident.