A child died while attending a day camp in California’s Santa Monica Mountains after being struck by a falling tree branch. Other kids and adults near the tree were hurt but survived.
Children and adults were standing under the tree Wednesday at King Gillette Ranch, a site used by Camp Wildcraft and managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Lt. Daniel Vizcarra told the Los Angeles Times that people heard a cracking sound before the 25-30-foot branch thought to weigh hundreds of pounds fell onto them at about 3 p.m.
The branch injured three kids and two adults. One of the children, an 8-year-old boy, was pronounced dead at the hospital. In addition, an 11-year-old girl suffered a broken leg, a 5-year-old boy got a cut on his head, a 22-year-old man suffered bruises to his arms and hands and a 73-year-old man was concussed, LASD officials told the L.A. newspaper.
Officials didn’t say what caused the branch to fall.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of a young child at a summer camp at King Gillette Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains. … We are working closely with Los Angeles County Sheriffs and appropriate agencies to understand exactly what happened,” MRCA Executive Officer Joseph Edmiston said in a statement, according to Los Angeles’ KTTV.
Camp Wildcraft has not yet responded to a request for comment.
