Newly obtained text messages reveal an employee with a tree care company warned of decay on an oak tree at King Gillette Ranch Park in Calabasas a day before a branch fell during a summer camp and killed an 8-year-old boy, The Orange County Register reported.
“It is somewhat concerning seeing all the decay at the trunk. It would be wise to thin the canopy and alleviate end weight at a minimum to mitigate risk,” an employee identified only as Gilbert wrote in a text message on July 8, according to the outlet.
On July 9, the 8-year-old, now identified as Lamar McGlothurn, along with several others in attendance at Camp Wildcraft were struck when the 25-30 foot long branch snapped off the tree.
McGlothurn was airlifted to a hospital where he later died from blunt force crush injuries, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner.
An 11-year-old girl with a broken leg was also airlifted to the hospital, while a 5-year-old boy suffered lacerations to his head, a 22-year-old man sustained bruises to his head and arms and a 73-year-old suffered concussion.
According to The Register, representatives of Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which manages King Gillette Ranch, have not responded to requests for comment and it’s unclear if the tree was cordoned off or marked before the fatal collapse.
Shari Davis, Camp Wildcraft co-director, declined to comment, the outlet reported.
The mother of a junior counselor at Camp Wildcraft that day, Jill Ettinger, told The Register that camp staff had been told that a branch from the had fallen earlier in the week, though it’s unknown if the conservation authority told camp administrators that the tree was safe to gather under or if camp employees knew about the tree’s decay concerns.
Whatever the case, camp attendees continued to meet beneath the tree each day until the tragic incident.
Ettinger also told the outlet that despite filling out a form trauma counseling reportedly offered to cameras after the incident, neither her or her daughter have been contacted.
The text message and other communications were obtained by the Southern California News Group in a California Public Records Act request.
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