In a heart-wrenching incident, an 8-year-old boy from California lost his life when a large tree branch fell on him during a summer camp activity. The tragic event unfolded in front of his parents, who are now taking legal action against the camp, claiming negligence on the part of the staff. According to the lawsuit, camp employees were allegedly aware that branches were dangerously falling from the tree yet still allowed children to play, paint, and rest beneath it.

The parents of Lamar McGlothurn, the young victim, recount in their legal filing that their son was engaged in activities directly under the tree when a branch fell, leading to his untimely death on July 9.

The tragedy occurred as Lamar’s parents were arriving to pick him up from Camp Wildcraft, located at King Gillette Ranch in Los Angeles County. The lawsuit states that a branch from an oak tree unexpectedly broke off and struck Lamar, resulting in his immediate death.

Attorneys representing the family, Robert Glassman and Joe O’Hanlon, issued a statement expressing the parents’ devastation, noting that they witnessed their son’s death. The attorneys claim that both the camp and relevant public authorities were aware of the hazardous condition of the oak trees used by the camp, and this was not the first incident involving falling branches from the tree.

Details within the complaint highlight that a similar incident involving a fallen branch from the same tree occurred just a week prior. It is alleged that staff at King Gillette Ranch had expressed concerns about the tree’s deteriorating condition. Records, including text messages and emails from the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority (MRCA), which manages the ranch, reveal that staff had requested the removal of at least one branch that had broken off on July 2.

“Wow. That was a massive branch,” an MRCA division chief allegedly wrote in an email about the previous branch that fell. “Thank god that no one was seriously hurt or killed. Thank you so much for taking care of this. I would not have been able to sleep at night knowing that branch was just waiting to fall.”

Lamar was killed a week later, despite recommendations to do something about the “health of the tree” from a local landscaping company that was called in.

“It is somewhat concerning seeing all the decay at the trunk,” a worker allegedly texted. “It would be wise to thin the canopy and alleviate end weight at a minimum to mitigate the risk,” the employee said, but nothing was done, according to the complaint.

“Based on several reports, Camp Wildcraft even directed the campers, like Lamar, to stay within the target zone of the tree on July 9 despite such notice of falling tree limbs capable of killing the children underneath,” the complaint alleges.

A timeline provided by the family’s attorneys says the text from the landscaper was sent to camp staff on July 3, six days before Lamar’s death. Post-incident inspections by experts hired by the family’s legal team have revealed “significant signs of deterioration in the oak tree,” including structural defects, stress signs, and internal decay that would have been visually apparent, their lawyers say.

“The presence of degraded wood tissue and separation between dead and live bark indicates the tree has experienced chronic stress and physiological decline over time,” the complaint concludes. “These conditions likely represent a long-standing defect that would have been observable prior to the failure event and, in my opinion, constitute a clear visual warning of compromised structural integrity in the trunk of the tree.”

Camp Wildcraft describes itself as an “art and nature day camp” with a mission to “grow curious, creative, caring and confident kids,” according to its website. The camp did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment Wednesday. An MRCA spokesperson sent Law&Crime a statement saying, “The MRCA will review the claim and complaint and respond at the appropriate time through the legal process. From day one, the MRCA has been committed to a full, thorough, and transparent inquiry, with a proposed action plan to ensure that a tragedy like this never occurs again. That investigation remains open and ongoing, and the MRCA continues to cooperate fully with all parties involved.”