Baton Rouge, LAAlthough usually an amusement park accident involves large-scale theme parks, theme park injuries and amusement park accidents can happen at smaller-scale events, too. These include school fairs and fun days. People and organizations that run such events are responsible for ensuring that guests and ride-goers have a fun, safe experience. Unfortunately, even at small-scale events, horrific theme park accidents can occur.
In May 2011, two teenagers were seriously injured in an amusement ride at a school fair. The two, a brother and sister, fell almost 15 feet when they were thrown from a Zipper ride, which is similar to a Ferris wheel, but with cars that flip around. The accident occurred when the two attempted to get off the ride but the ride actually went into motion again. According to the Times-Picayune (05/15/11), the two were airlifted to the hospital. Officials are investigating the incident.
More recently, 13 people in New York were injured when a gust of wind blew away three bounce houses that had been set up as part of a soccer tournament. The houses were torn from the ground and blew into the air before landing on their sides. One woman reportedly sustained serious injuries to her spine and head injuries. According to ABC News (06/06/11), this is not the first incident this year involving bounce houses. On February 19, one girl was seriously injured and another suffered minor injuries when a bounce house blew over a fence and onto a roof.
In April, a jumping castle was blown across three lanes of traffic before landing on the median of a highway in Arizona. A boy and girl who were in the castle when the incident occurred were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
According to NBC News (06/08/11), federal officials report around 6,000 injuries annually involving bounce houses and similar structures. In many cases, the injuries involve horseplay or children landing on each other causing broken bones. But in some cases, those injuries are caused by the structures blowing away in the wind.
Bounce house manufacturers say that if the wind gets up to 20 miles per hour, regardless of how well tied down the houses are, they should be shut down.
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