Wind blows away bounce house in Arizona, killing a child and injuring another
PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. - A strong gust of wind blew away a bounce house in Pinal County, killing a child.
The tragic incident happened around 5 p.m. on April 27 near Cox and McCartney roads just outside of Casa Grande.
"Several children were playing in a bounce house when a strong gust of wind sent it airborne into the neighboring lot," the sheriff's office said.
Of the children inside the bounce house, a 2-year-old was taken to the hospital where he died. A second child was treated at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"This appears to have been a tragic accident," the sheriff's office said. "We would like to extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the grieving family."
No more information is available.
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family and it can be found by clicking here.
‘We are all devastated’
The Phoenix Fire Department confirmed the two-year-old's dad is a firefighter with the department.
"We are all devastated by its tremendous loss of life. The fire service prides itself on being one big family. Our membership and our department is doing everything we can to support Karl and Cristy during this difficult time," the fire department said.
The local firefighters union also organized a meal drive for the family.
"It’s crazy how something so joyous can turn so sad in just a spur of the moment. Condolences to the family and friends who knew the family and who knew this poor baby who sadly passed away," said Delmy Montes De Oca, owner of 2gether We Bounce party rentals.
She confirms her company wasn’t involved in the incident, but sends her condolences. Delmy doesn’t want to speculate on what happened either.
As a business owner and mother, Delmy wants the community to know how to keep safe when using these inflatables.
"A lot of companies in the Valley alone are not licensed, are not insured. They are just setting these up to make a quick buck on the weekends, and so, just making sure you are setting up or renting from someone who is reputable, who has insurance, who knows how to set this up, and more importantly, who knows how to set these up with stakes or sandbags," she said.
This tragedy is also extremely rare, numbers show.
There have been two incidents in Arizona of children getting hurt by them during the wind in 2011 and 2021.
According to the American Meteorological Society, only 28 deaths from wind and bounce houses worldwide were recorded between the years 2000 and 2021.