HERRIMAN, Utah (KSL) – A Utah family is calling it a “miracle” that their 8-year-old son is alive after a trampoline he was jumping on was picked up by wind and thrown 20 feet in the air.
Jake Smith, 8, and his family were visiting relatives in Saint George. He was jumping on the trampoline on what his mother, Shellie Smith, says was a beautiful day when suddenly, a burst of wind picked up the trampoline and sent it flying 20 feet in the air – with Jake still on it.
“It happened so fast, without any warning,” Shellie Smith said. “My little boy flew up over two cinder block walls, curved around and then landed in the street.”
Jake’s mother says she immediately ran over to him in terror, and her son, seemingly unscathed, sat up and asked her if it was a dream.
“I said, ‘No, son, this wasn’t a dream. This was very real.’ He was able to sit up and tell me his name, his age and everything, like nothing happened,” Shellie Smith said.
Jake describes the experience as being “like an airplane with no roof.” He was checked out at the hospital after the incident but walked away with just minor scratches and a slight concussion.
“The trauma department was like, ‘You don’t usually get this outcome in situations like this,‘” Shellie Smith said.
She adds she is grateful her son survived the terrifying ordeal.
“I know that there were angels protecting my little boy because they caught him. The fact that he’s here with me today is a complete miracle,” she said.
Jake’s parents are hoping their story will serve as a warning to other families to make sure their trampolines are securely mounted. They don’t want any parents to experience what they went through.
“Strap them down. They’re just like giant kites,” said Brian Smith, Jake’s father.
“If you have a trampoline, get it bolted to the ground because it can happen in seconds,” Shellie Smith said.
Jake also says he’s going to be cautious of the next trampoline he gets on.
“I’m gonna say, ‘Is yours bolted down?‘” he said.
Another child who was on the trampoline with Jake fell off before it got picked up by the wind. That boy suffered some scrapes and bruises.
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