Utah boy, 8, survives horror Wizard of Oz-style wind incident that should have killed him
A Utah family is celebrating a 'miracle' after their eight-year-old son survived a horror trampoline accident straight from the Wizard of Oz.
Jake Smith was playing on his trampoline last month when a wind gust swept through his home in Herriman, Utah, dramatically lifting it over 20 feet in the air.
'It happened so fast, without any warning,' his mother Shellie told WOWT. 'My little boy flew up over two cinder block walls, curved around and then landed in the street.'
Shellie said she raced over to her son fearing he was severely injured, but found that he was unscathed and even asked his mom if it was a dream.
'I said, ‘No, son, this wasn’t a dream. This was very real,'' she recalled. 'He was able to sit up and tell me his name, his age and everything, like nothing happened.'
Jake described his brush with danger as being 'like an airplane with no roof', recalling a scene reminiscent of the 1939 movie classic The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy Gale, played by Judy Garland, is inside a home blown away by a tornado.
His mother said doctors were stunned when Jake arrived at hospital with only minor cuts and bruises, and he was diagnosed with a slight concussion.
'The trauma department was like, ‘You don’t usually get this outcome in situations like this,' Shellie added.
Jake Smith, 8, miraculously walked away unscathed last month after a wind gust picked up a trampoline he was on and threw it 20 feet
Jake, seen bouncing safely on his trampoline after surviving the scare, described his brush with danger as being 'like an airplane with no roof'
Jake's mother said doctors were stunned to see him walk away with only a minor concussion and cuts following the incident
Following Jake's terrifying near-miss, his parents said they are hoping to spread the word to other parents about the dangers of unsecured trampolines.
They said they are urging others to ensure their trampolines are mounted to the ground, and warned that all it takes is a large wind gust to throw them through the air.
'Strap them down. They’re just like giant kites,' Jake's father Brian said.
Shellie added: 'If you have a trampoline, get it bolted to the ground because it can happen in seconds.'
Jake said he was on the trampoline with another child who fell off before it was picked up by the wind gust, who was left with some scrapes in the chaotic incident.
When asked what he will say next time he gets on a trampoline, Jake responded: 'I'm gonna say, 'Is yours bolted down?''
