The family of a 4-year-old boy who was killed by a falling eucalyptus branch in Villa La Jolla Park earlier this year has filed a lawsuit, alleging the city and its arborists failed to properly maintain the tree, which led to their son’s death.
Ronan Kerr was playing with his father, Cathal, and 7-year-old brother, Charles, at the park on Via Marin on June 29 when a 27-foot branch broke off a eucalyptus tree and fell 60 feet, according to the lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court on Tuesday. The branch was 17 inches in diameter and spanned 34 feet long.
The lawsuit says that Cathal tried to grab both his boys and carry them to safety, but he could not do so in time to save Ronan. The branch hit both the 4-year-old and his father.
Ronan died seven days later at Rady’s Children Hospital, according to the lawsuit. His father suffered multiple injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, facial lacerations and broken bones, among other injuries.
City officials declined to discuss the lawsuit, saying that they do not comment on pending litigation. The two city contractors who the lawsuit alleges are in charge of tree maintenance in the park could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit states that the branch fell from a tree that was clearly unhealthy, decayed and had deadwood.
“The tree’s branches and limbs were large, elongated, heavy, angled and improperly maintained to the point that it was obvious to a trained eye that the tree would catastrophically fail,” the lawsuit reads.
The litigation goes on to list more than 30 instances from 1983 to 2005 in which tree branches or eucalyptus trees dangerously fell in San Diego, including in Villa La Jolla Park.
For instance, in 1983 at the entrance to the San Diego Zoo, a 4-year-old girl was killed, and in 2013, a pregnant woman and a man were injured when a tree fell on them at the UC San Diego campus, the lawsuit reads.
“Eucalyptus trees in San Diego parks … were posing significant dangers to the public,” the suit alleges. “The city’s inspection and maintenance protocols were grossly inadequate to identify hazardous trees before they failed.”
In addition to financial damages, the lawsuit requests that all eucalyptus trees that are deemed a danger to public safety near parks and schools in the city be removed or properly managed. The suit requests that the trees be properly inspected in a timely manner and that tree inspections and risk assessments be publicly posted on the city’s website.