A family and community in Southern Maryland are remembering a 5-year-old boy after an inflatable bounce house went airborne during a professional baseball game in Waldorf on Friday night, killing the boy and injuring another child.
Declan Hicks was the little boy who was killed, his father, David Hicks Jr., told News4.
“Words just can't explain how remarkable he was," his father said on a video call, saying Declan's turned 5 only a month earlier.
Friday was “Faith and Family Night” at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, and families and churchgoers from across Southern Maryland went to the ballpark to watch the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs and enjoy a night of family fun. Instead, tragedy struck.
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A bounce house with children inside “was carried approximately 15 to 20 feet up in the air, causing children to fall before it landed on the playing field,” Charles County officials said in a statement.
Declan was at the game with his mother and was playing in the bounce house at the time.
“She's trying to get through it, but it tears her up,” the child's father said. “We can't even come with words sometimes."
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"I always will love my son," he said.
Declan and another child were rushed to hospitals, where the 5-year-old died. He lived in LaPlata.
His grandparents’ church, South Potomac Church, in White Plains, hosted a town hall meeting on Monday evening to try to support everyone affected by the child's death.
“We are heartbroken … When one grieves, we all grieve,” the church said in a notice about the town hall. They invited first responders, stadium staff and “all those affected by this tragedy” to mourn at the church.
Dr. Benjamin Keyes of the Center for Trauma and Resiliency Studies assembled a team of therapists to offer grief counseling. For parents whose children witnessed the tragedy, Keyes flagged several things to watch for.
"If they notice that children are withdrawing, not interested in play, having difficulty talking about what happened — those are all things to be concerned about," he said.
‘It came flying up over the side of the fence’
The Blue Crabs and the York Revolution, of Pennsylvania, were between innings Friday night when the bounce house blew onto the field.
“It’s kind of up on a platform at the end of the first baseline, and it came flying up over the side of the fence and onto the right field,” witness Marie Ragano said.
Paramedics, the teams’ medical personnel and players from both teams ran to the bounce house.
“They pretty much cleared the benches and went running out there,” Ragano said.
From a distance, she said she could see someone appear to exit the bounce house.
“I saw one guy waving his hands and pointing down that someone was hurt,” she said.
The mood in the ballpark shifted from celebratory to silent and prayerful.
‘To know him was to love him’
Declan loved dinosaurs, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and crazy socks, a representative for his family said in an online fundraiser.
“He was a very special little boy who brought light and laughter to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. To know him was to love him,” the fundraising page says.
Declan's flag football team, the LaPlata Blue Knights, will dedicate their fall season to him.
“Always in our hearts and forever a Blue Knight, rest in honor Declan,” a message from the team says.
State and federal investigations into what went wrong are underway.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Maryland Department of Labor are investigating. The Department of Labor will look into who held the permit for the bounce house and whether proper safety protocols were followed.
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Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
