MESQUITE, Texas — Several students at a Mesquite ISD elementary school were injured after a gust of wind lifted a bounce house they were in, school officials said.
In a statement, the district said the students were injured during a play day event at Lawrence Elementary. The injured students were taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
WFAA spoke with one 4th grade student who was injured. That student’s family requested to remain anonymous. “I saw one of my classmates laying on the ground unconscious,” said the student. “I saw a lot of my classmates crying.”
The student said a fourth-grade class was playing on the ball bounce house when a gust of wind blew past.
“It was tipping over a little bit, and then it just like flew into the air,” said the student. “I knew I was going to get hurt in some kind of way, but I didn’t know how. And it was really scary.”
Fifth-grader Isrea Rodriguez witnessed the bounce house flip. He said he ran to alert teachers and began helping students.
“A few of my friends ran over there too to help me get the kids from under. Then, we started checking up on the kids on the ground,” said Rodriguez.
His mother, Vicenta Rodriguez, called him a hero.
“The joy of his teacher telling me, you know, like he’s a hero, he’s very brave for that, it melts my heart,” said Vicenta.
Mesquite ISD said in a statement, “We have been in direct contact with these families and are grateful to report none are life-threatening.”
Witnesses said some students on the bounce house suffered broken bones. No other students were harmed and they continued the school day indoors, the district said, with the rest of the play day’s activities canceled.
Counselors have been made available for any students or staff who may need support after the incident, the district added.
“The district has launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances of the incident, and we are committed to reviewing every aspect of the event to ensure it never happens again,” the district concluded in its statement. “Nothing matters more than protecting the children entrusted to our care.”
Students said the bounce house was on concrete and was secured by sandbags.
“There was, I think, one big one, and then the rest were small,” said one student.
“The bags weren’t all the way on the thing. They were at the edge. That’s kind of a safety hazard because you have to strap it down with the metal things that go in the grass. Plus, it was on the concrete,” said Rodriguez.
WFAA reached out to the bounce house company but has not heard back.
“If you don’t have the proper equipment to weigh those things down, find somewhere else to put them,” said Vicenta.
Mesquite ISD added that it would be suspending the use of all outdoor bounce houses at events for the remainder of this school year.
“This decision reflects our deep commitment to student safety and allows time for a thorough review of what occurred this morning,” the district said in a statement. “Once that review is complete, we will evaluate the future use of inflatable structures at MISD events.”
WFAA reached out to Bounce ‘N’ More, the company that rents out the bounce houses and a spokesperson provided the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred earlier today at Lawrence Elementary School during a field day event. Our thoughts are with everyone affected—students, families, teachers, staff, and the broader community. As a family business, this has been truly upsetting for all of us at Bounce N More. In nearly 20 years of operation, we have been proud to safely support over 3,000 events each year across North Texas, and we have never witnessed an incident of this nature. The total health and wellbeing of our customers has always been our greatest priority, and we have worked hard to uphold the highest of safety standards in every aspect of our work.
While today’s event was self-staffed, an option available to all customers, we can confirm that all safety checks and procedures were followed during setup, including full function of all blowers, air tubes, and zippers, and anchored with sandbags as required for use on concrete. All safety measures were reviewed on-site and signed as required prior to the event, outlining evacuation procedures in the event of wind speeds exceeding 15 mph or rain, and with the unit’s safety rules and maximum occupancy of four properly displayed. We are conducting a thorough internal review as we await more information, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to safely serving the communities we love.”
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.