Child Caught In Flying Bounce House Speaks Out

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – One of the children inside a bounce house sent flying after a waterspout hit Fort Lauderdale Beach is speaking out.

"What were you thinking while all this was happening," asked CBS4's Gary Nelson.

"I was thinking I'm about to die," said 6-year old Shamoya.

She walked out of the hospital Tuesday afternoon. She was among three children flung from a bounce house on Monday.

Shamoya and her stepbrother A.J. who broke a wrist were in the bounce house with a third child. They were all treated and released.

"When it was spinning around...they were screaming. I was being quiet," said Shamoya.

She said she could hear trouble on the way.  She now says she is sure she will go back to the beach but she said, "no more bounce house."

Click here to watch Oralia Ortega's report. 

Following the incident, questions of safety have been raised.

The mother of one of those injured children told CBS4's Natalia Zea she is consulting with attorneys to investigate whether someone did not properly tether or supervise the bounce house.

The waterspout formed Monday around 12:30 p.m. offshore of Bahia Mar. As it came ashore it toppled a canopy before it hit two bounce houses secured to a basketball court as part of city sponsored Memorial Day event. One of the houses broke free of its anchor lines, tumbled across A1A and then was lifted above the tree line.

Click here to watch Joan Murray's report. 

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said a total of four children were injured, and three were taken to the hospital.

"It was so disturbing to see the bounce house go up with the kids, and the kids were falling out. It looked like Tonka Toys," said Reggie Murphy.

Two of Hubert Dent's children, Shamoya and her stepbrother,  were thrown from the house as it tumbled across the beach before it was lifted into the air, coming down on a nearby parking lot.

"I seen them laying on the ground. I seen the basketball goals tore up and poles tore down. Just look crazy," said Dent.

Her mother said she plans to spoil her when she gets her home.

"Thank God she's here with me, thank God she's here," said Tameka Liscombe.

Liscombe said she feared the worst after Shamoya and A.J. were thrown in the air.

"I was crying going, 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I can't believe this" she said.

A third child who was injured, Shadaja Bryant, was taken to the hospital and released hours later.

"I was thinking I was about to die, then I fell in the dirt," said Bryant.

Burt Osteen, a 37-year-old flooring installer from Fort Lauderdale, and his family dove to the sand on their stomachs as they saw the waterspout spinning toward them.

"It came right over us. We laid on the ground; we were right in front of the bounce house. We watched it pick up the bounce house and snap a basketball hoop," Osteen said.

A study in the Journal of Pediatrics found that 31 children a day were sent to emergency rooms because of injuries sustained in inflatables, like bounce houses, in 2010; that's one every 46 minutes.

Last year, two children were injured in Colorado when a bounce house was hit by a gust of wind and tumbled across a lacrosse field.

Thirteen people were hurt in a bounce house mishap on New York's Long Island in 2011.

The waterspout on Monday had top winds of 65 mph to 85 mph. In addition to snapping a basketball hoop it also brought down a light pole.

There were lots of questions over how the bounce house could get airborne with kids inside.

"I want to know if it was secured. If it was secured, would it have helped?" said Shamoya and A.J.'s aunt, Gabriella Pinnock.

Ft. Lauderdale police said the proper precautions were taken.

"This was a city event. The bounce house company is permitted, it was properly secured. But this was an act of Mother Nature, something that could not be prevented," said spokeswoman DeAnna Greenlaw.

On Tuesday the city issued a statement which read in part:

"An intense water spout came ashore rapidly and without warning bringing forceful winds that meteorologists have estimated were between 65 and 85 miles per hour.  Its powerful unpredictable path knocked down street lights and destroyed a cement basketball support structure.  Under the circumstances, our Police, Public Safety and Fire-Rescue personal responded quickly and appropriately to minimize injuries and damage.  While our thoughts and prayers remain with the injured children and their families for a speedy recovery, we are grateful that this act of god did not cause any more serious harm given the large number of people who were enjoying the beach on Memorial Day.  The City has already put the bounce house vendor, All Star Events, on notice of their responsibility as we continue to investigate the incident."

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