13 injured when bounce ride blows away

Dozens of people ran to help children in or near three inflatable bounce rides after wind gusts blew one of them into the others at an Oceanside soccer tournament Saturday, officials and an onlooker said.

"It was supposed to be a great day for the kids," said Patricia Cooper, of Oceanside, whose daughter was supposed to play in a 1 p.m. game that was later canceled. "Instead, it was just frightening."

The Oceanside United Soccer Club had set up the inflatables as part of its annual intramural festival and tournament, police said.

The gust sent an inflatable slide airborne and crashing into a bounce house and castle around 12:15 p.m., Cooper said. The bouncers landed from about a dozen feet up, knocking over several people on the ground, Nassau police said.

Thirteen people were taken to hospitals, police said, most with minor injuries.

Cooper had arrived on the field moments before with her daughter, Olivia, 8, who had planned to play in the inflatables herself.

"Some men and women were trying to tackle it, grab the strings and tie it down," Cooper said. "They were running to get the kids out."

Winds at the time were about 15 mph, with gusts of 20 mph, according to a spokesman from the National Weather Service.

Representatives of the club did not immediately return calls.