Two Kids Hospitalized as "Bounce House" Gets Flung 50 Feet in the Air

[pintobean]

What you see above is a "bounce house"—those inflatable trampoline domes that kids love to jump in—being swept 50 feet into the air in South Glens Falls, N.Y. yesterday. Of the three children inside, two were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

According to a witness, the bounce house got caught up in a wind gust, twisting in the air like it was twirling in a tornado. One girl inside the structure escaped with minor injuries, but two boys—ages five and six—weren't as lucky. One was tossed about 40 feet, eventually landing on the back of a car, while the other landed 20 feet in the other direction onto asphalt.

The younger boy reportedly suffered two broken arms and facial injuries, and was conscious on the scene. The six-year-old is said to have suffered serious head injuries. According to the mother of the girl, who spoke to the Glens Falls Post-Star, the bounce house was thrown from the yard of an apartment complex over a stretch of woods and into the field of an adjacent elementary school.

http://gawker.com/two-kids-hospitalized-as-bounce-house-gets-flung-50-f-1575681274

[TeeYiYi]

1. OMG! k+r ..nt

TYY

[okaawhatever]

2. Can you imagine the parents having to watch that? Prayers for the kids. nt

[Kaleva]

3. Wow!

[Jefferson23]

4. That is frightening...asphalt and a car to land on? Poor kids just playing. n/t

[MADem]

5. And your LITTLE DOG, toooooooo!!!!!!!!

Scary as hell!!!!

Those kids are lucky to be alive....!

[lumberjack_jeff]

6. We're not in Kansas... yet. n/t

[winter is coming]

7. That must have been some gust. Those things are usually anchored in place. n/t

[FSogol]

9. Key word: "usually anchored" Probably too much trouble to hammer all the anchors into the ground

Very sad.

[Not Sure]

11. Don't be so quick to judge - those anchors aren't worth a damn - even if they were set

If that photo shows the bounce house at 50 feet, then it must be one of the smaller 9' x 9' bounce houses, not the giant bounce houses you rent for parties. I bought one of the small ones for my girls when they were 3 and 4 and we set it up many times. I set it up in the yard a few times, but like I said the anchors weren't worth a damn so they would pop out of our clay soils after an hour or so of jumping. I had an experience where the wind moved the bounce house once, but only ten or fifteen feet and not in the air like this story. After that I just set it up in the living room. My neighbors and family members thought I was crazy to do that, but the girls loved it in the house and I didn't have to worry about them getting sunburned (a bigger concern than getting blown away, at least in our experience).

Anyway, this story is awful and makes me feel lucky we never had more serious injuries than a busted lip. My heart goes out to the kids and the parents.

[Logical]

12. Can't wait a week or so to insult the parents? nt

[FSogol]

14. IMO, that looks like a commerical model. I'm assuming it was rented and not set up properly.

A cheap home model would have shredded with that powerful of a gust. IMO.

On edit: It wasn't a commercial model. According to the ABC new article, the kids fell out at about 15 feet.

Very sad. Hope they recover.

[Capt. Obvious]

8. Did they see Miss Almira Gulch on her bicycle when they were up there?

[pintobean]

10. No, they met Russell the Wilderness Explorer, though.

[2naSalit]

13. Holy Cow!!

That's what I'd be having if it were my kids on that thing!



Hope those kids will be okay.

[Brother Buzz]

15. I've heard of them mowing down fences and ending up at end of the block with kids inside, but wow!

[scarletwoman]

16. I can't imagine how frightening that must have been for those poor kids!

Not to mention, for the parents witnessing it. How awful!

I hope the two boys will heal okay. So very sad all the way around.

[Demo_Chris]

17. Many people do not know this, so here goes...

These inflatable are DANGEROUS. Not conditionally dangerous, but dangerous period. Accidents like this one are common, as are incidents in which kids wipe themselves out falling off the damn things. I set up with a different professional carnival basically every week and NONE of them that I see own these things.

And while I am on the topic, or somewhat related anyway, allow me to clear up a misconception about carnival rides and workers. First the rides. They are safe. Far safer than anything you will find at an amusement park. Not only are they inspected by the city or state at every stop, but more important they are inspected by the workers who assemble them. These guys know what parts actually break, they know what to look for, what to tighten, and they really do care about your safety. Sometimes things go wrong, but believe it or not it happens more often at amusement parks, and when something does go wrong as often as not it was the customer doing something idiotic.

Second, give these guys and gals a little respect. They work brutally long hours under terrible conditions for bloody little money. For many it's not because they cannot get another job, but because they love the show. I have seen these guys, seventy hours into a stop, still taking the time to smile and joke with the little kids in the line. Yeah, the game operators want all your money and yes it's not fair, but you already knew that and that's why you are there.

And NO, the carnies are not going to hurt your kid. Just the opposite. They are guarding your kid. They are watching EVERYONE on the lot, they know who belongs and who is out of place, they saw that creeper watching the kiddies long before anyone else, and almost always they are able to take care of things before you or the police ever knew there was a problem. There are hundreds of carnivals running every weekend all across the country full of hundreds of thousands of people doing stupid and dangerous things, and these guys do an astonishingly good job guarding them and trying to give them an enjoyable experience.

I am not a carnie myself. I do not have that honor. I am not, as they say, 'With it,' but I am 'For it.' I am a showman, and I am proud to call many of these people my friends.