8-Year-Old Boy Was Killed by Falling Branch at Summer Camp in Front of His Parents: Lawsuit

A California couple is suing after they say they watched a falling tree limb kill their 8-year-old son as they arrived to pick him up from summer camp.

Their son, Lamar McGlothurn, died on July 9 at Camp Wildcraft at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas when a large branch broke off an aging, deteriorating oak tree and crashed down, according to a complaint filed Monday, Nov. 17. Four other people were injured in the incident.

In the lawsuit, Lamar’s parents claim the deadly collapse wasn’t a freak accident. They allege that substantial branches had fallen from the same tree before, yet the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority (MRCA) — which manages the ranch — and camp operators still allowed children to gather beneath it. The complaint says campers were repeatedly directed to play, paint, and rest under the tree’s canopy, and that Lamar was doing exactly that when the branch fell.

MRCA, in a statement, said it could not comment on the allegations because of ongoing litigation. The agency added that it is conducting a full investigation, is cooperating with all involved parties, and intends to put safeguards in place to prevent another tragedy.

The parents’ filing also argues that both MRCA and camp staff were aware that multiple oak trees at the ranch had shown signs of serious health problems — including the tree that broke. The complaint claims ranch crews raised alarms about its condition roughly a week before Lamar’s death, citing emails, text messages, public records requests, and recent reports.

According to the lawsuit, staff asked that a dangerous limb be removed after a branch snapped on July 2. The next day, senior MRCA officials allegedly sent an email warning about the risk. A division chief reportedly replied that they were relieved no one had been hurt, adding that they wouldn’t have been able to sleep knowing the branch was still waiting to fall.

The complaint says a landscaping company also flagged significant decay and advised thinning the canopy and reducing weight to lower the danger. Industry standards, the filing notes, call for restricting access around hazardous trees. Yet, despite warnings and prior branch failures, the area was never closed off and children continued to sit and play beneath the tree, the parents allege.

On July 9, another heavy branch dropped onto a picnic table, killing Lamar and injuring others.

“This tree branch crushed Lamar to death in front of his mom and dad,” the family’s attorney, Robert Glassman, told CBS Los Angeles. He said the parents tried to lift the branch off their son but were unable to because of its weight. Glassman described the death as preventable, not an unavoidable act of nature.

MRCA has 45 days to respond to the claim, the family’s lawyers said. If no response is filed, they plan to continue pursuing a wrongful-death lawsuit against all entities they believe are responsible.