A 5-year-old boy from La Plata, Maryland, died after a Waldorf inflatable castle was thrown into the air while children were playing inside, authorities said.
WTOP’s Ralph Fox shares an interview with a witness to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs moon bouncy castle incident that killed a 5-year-old.
A 5-year-old boy from La Plata, Maryland, died after a bouncy castle at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf was thrown into the air while children were playing inside Friday night, authorities said.
Charles County first responders were called after 9:20 p.m. as children were playing on a moon bounce house at the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball game.
A county spokeswoman said a gust of wind blew the moon 15 to 20 feet into the air as an unknown number of children were playing inside, “knocking the children off before it landed on the playground.”
“Charles County EMS personnel, who were already stationed at the stadium for the game, along with baseball coaches and several volunteer first responders who were present, quickly began treating patients within minutes of the incident,” the county said in a news release Saturday.
The county said the 5-year-old boy was seriously injured in the incident. He was later pronounced dead after being flown to Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
A second child was also injured when the projectile bounced off the moon, but is expected to survive.
“We extend our deepest sympathy to the children and their families during this difficult time. We thank our EMS team and the Maryland State Police for their quick actions to ensure the children received immediate care,” Charles County Board of Government Chairman Reuben B. Collins II said in a statement.
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs have canceled Saturday night’s game following the moon bounce incident. The team also said it is “offering counseling and support to the families, players and fans who attended” Friday night’s game.
“Our entire organization shares our condolences with the family as they mourn the loss of a child and are concerned for the injured child,” said Courtney Knichel, the team’s general manager. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.”
“All of a sudden I saw the bouncy castle flying through the air,” said Marie Ragano, who was at the stadium for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs game, attending a “Faith and Family Night” event.
From her vantage point near and along the third base line, she said the bouncy castle appeared to flip over in right field, throwing something out of the house onto the field.
“As the ball was flying through the air, I saw something come out of it. But I didn’t know if it was a kid or not until I saw players from both teams running toward right field,” Ragano told WTOP.
Ragano said her family left about 20 minutes after people realized at least one child was injured, telling WTOP she just wanted to get out of the way so emergency responders could help the injured children.
“I’m really sad,” she said, fighting back tears. “For a child to be out there playing… something like this to happen. It’s so sad.”
“We go to carnivals and stuff. We always wonder if everything is organized,” Ragano said. “You see these bouncy castles flying in the air all the time on the news, so I don’t really know why it wasn’t more ingrained.”
WTOP’s Bryan Albin contributed to this report.
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