MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Four children are recovering from injuries after a dust devil picked up a bounce house in Mesa last week. One of the children is still in the hospital. It started out as an end-of-the-school-year celebration at the Trovita Estates, a gated community in Mesa.
It started out as an end-of-the-school-year celebration at the Trovita Estates, a gated community in Mesa. “What was supposed to be a celebration turned into a tragedy,” said Kevin Lee. A tragedy, Lee said, his 6-year-old child and three others endured on a bounce house of horror.
“The dust devil came and I flew,” said Lee’s 6-year-old son. Wind gusts carried the bounce house more than 15 feet leading to a traumatic fall. “Everyone was in shock when it happened. It was a freak accident,” said Lee. It was a freak accident that landed four kids in the hospital. Injuries ranged from broken bones to lacerated livers and concussions.
It happened around 4 p.m. in a neighborhood park near Val Vista and Brown Road in Mesa.
Thankfully, everyone will be OK, including Lee’s son, who has a fractured tail bone. “We are all very, very lucky because as bad as it was, it could have been so much worse,” said Lee.
Lee said they are not testing bad luck again. “I will never do that, never do that again,” said Lee’s 6-year-old son.
According to emergency room data, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported more than 18,800 injuries in 2012 as a result of moon bounces, bounce houses, and inflatable amusements. That’s a threefold increase from six years earlier, according to the commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.
If you’d like to help the children with medical expenses, click here. Our best wishes for a fast and full recovery for the injured.
Source: 3TV/CBS 5