The tragic accident that killed a 5-year-old fan at a minor league baseball game Friday mirrored previous incidents at the home park of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, according to a new report.
Read more: Minor League Baseball Game Ends in Tragedy For 5-Year-Old Fan
According to TheBayNet.com, two witnesses claimed seeing a bounce house fly loose from its tiedowns at Blue Crabs games in the past:
One eyewitness stated he personally witnessed an incident between 2010 and 2012 where the “bouncy house” attraction at the stadium blew loose from its tie-downs with children on board and became airborne, landing on the field. This mirrors the fatal event at Friday’s game.
The Blue Crabs immediately called off Friday’s game after the accident, which sent another child to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Saturday’s game was postponed the same night. Sunday morning, the Blue Crabs postponed their game scheduled for later that day.
The team also disabled comments on the two posts to its Twitter/X feed announcing the postponements.
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If the team’s own incidents involving bounce houses flying onto the field were not enough to dissuade the same promotions in the future, there were several examples of similar tragedies elsewhere to draw from.
A study by the University of Georgia, cited by the New York Times, found at least 479 injuries and 28 deaths happened in wind-related bounce house incidents around the world from 2000-21.
The Times also cited an incident from this past April, in which a 2-year-old in Arizona was killed and another child was hospitalized when a bounce house went airborne and landed in a neighboring lot. Five Australian schoolchildren also died in a 2021 incident when a bouncy castle was propelled 30 feet into the air.
Officials in Charles County, Maryland said the bounce house at the Blue Crabs game lifted “15 to 20 feet” into the air. It was tied down beyond the right-field fence at the outset and landed on the field near first base.
Via the press release, Charles County Government Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins, II, Esq. said, “We extend our deepest empathy to the children and their families during this difficult time. 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, also issued a statement Saturday.
“Our entire organization shares our condolences with the family mourning the loss of a child, and concern for the child who was injured,” she said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.”