1 child killed after wind gust sends bounce house airborne at baseball game

WALDORF, Maryland — One child was killed and another was injured after a gust of wind blew a bounce house into the air during a baseball game in Maryland on Friday night, local officials said.

Local emergency services received a call in Waldorf, Maryland, at Regency Furniture Stadium around 9:21 p.m. Friday night. There was a report that a bounce house had been blown into the air by a gust of wind with children inside.

At the time, the minor league baseball team Southern Maryland Blue Crabs was playing a game, and “the moon bouncer was carried approximately 15 to 20 feet into the air, causing children to fall before it landed on the playing field,” according to a press release from the Charles County government, published on its website.

Emergency responders who were already at the stadium for the game, along with baseball team coaches and several volunteer responders, began treating the patients within minutes, the press release said.

A 5-year-old boy from La Plata, Maryland, was flown to Children’s National Hospital in Washington, where he was later pronounced dead, the news release said. A second child was also flown by Maryland State Police with non-life-threatening injuries.

Courtney Knichel, executive director of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, said in a statement from Charles County that “our entire organization extends our condolences to the family grieving the loss of a child, and we are concerned for the child who was injured.”

Charles County Government Commission Chairman Reuben B. Collins II also expressed his condolences.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the children and their families during this difficult time,” he said. “We thank our EMS team and the Maryland State Police for their quick actions to ensure the children received immediate care.”

The team has canceled Saturday night’s baseball game and is offering counseling and support to families, players and fans who attended the game, the Charles County news release said.