News: LI Children Injured in Bouncing Houses
(Long Island, N.Y.) Following a national spell of tornadoes, extreme weather conditions proved to be another cause of calamity when bouncing houses were blown away during a soccer tournament. Last Saturday’s heavy winds turned a cheerful family event into a nightmare for several Long Island parents. Thirteen children were injured when three inflatable rides tumbled in the air.
The incident occurred roughly fifteen minutes past noon at School Number 9 in Oceanside during an event hosted by the Oceanside United Soccer Club. The injured were taken to local hospitals and treated for minor injuries. At least two adults were struck by houses while they desperately tried to protect their children and keep them on the ground.
Reports stated that one girl was almost strangled when a rope wrapped around her neck. She miraculously avoided serious injury and claimed to have felt like someone was grabbing her neck. She was allegedly getting ready to enter the ride when she was dragged by the twine designed to hold down the houses.
The strong winds promoted chaos across the soccer field when parents sprinted in every direction towards the rolling houses and watched them soar many feet through the air. A mother of two injured girls ran toward the house and witnessed the others tumbling. Witnesses claimed that the bizarre incident depicted something out of a movie.
Police were called and at least one video was taken, showing what led to children being knocked down and lying across the field. Some suspect that while those responsible are unlikely to face criminal charges, several hefty civil suits may result from the incident. The video, which captures the houses bouncing multiple times in the air, will speak to the interests of distraught parents.
Reports stated that at least one of the houses traveled a hundred feet from its starting point and that the children were lucky to have avoided serious injuries. Some claim that the houses are meant to be indoor rides. Parents and concerned witnesses made several unsuccessful attempts to hold them down before being taken to the ground.
Sources stated that a four-month-old strapped in a stroller was tossed in the air and that witnesses saw the stroller upside down. It was also reported that children waiting in line were sucked into the houses, and that the company’s business is likely to suffer as a result of the injuries. Some claim that sandbags were used to hold down the houses, but that there was no resistance against the strong winds.
This was not the first incident in which bouncing houses have caused injuries to children. Reports stated that sisters, who were between the ages of nine and eleven, were thrown over a hundred feet in the air while inside a bouncing house in Arizona. A boy and girl were hurt in April after a gust of wind traveling sixty miles-per-hour impacted their bouncing house in Tucson.
