The families of the 15 victims who died in July Flood at Camp Mystic A lawsuit was filed Monday in Central Texas accusing the camp of gross negligence.
A lawsuit filed in District Court in Travis County, Texas by the parents of campers Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Molly DeWitt, Lainey Landry and Blakely McCrory and counselors Chloe Childress and Katherine Ferruzzo, accuses the Eastland family – the camp’s owners – of “deplorable behavior” and “deplorable behavior.” protect camp property On the safety of campers and counselors.
The complaint alleges that the owners, who had operated the camp since 1939, knew that flash flood Its proximity to the Guadalupe River and prior flooding in 1932, 1978, 1985, and 1987 posed a danger to the camp.
It also says the camp’s owners did not respond adequately to the National Weather Service Flash Flood warning at 1:14 a.m. local time and camp equipment was secured instead of warning everyone campers and counselors To vacate their cabin.
At least 136 people died in flooding in the Texas Hill Country on the morning of July 4, including 25 campers and two counselors. camp mystic,
The families of campers Virginia Naylor, Hadley Hanna, Virginia Hollis, Jane Hunt, Lucy Dillon and Katelyn Lytle have also filed a lawsuit against the camp in Travis County. Attorneys for the families confirmed Monday’s filing in an email to The Hill.
The families of campers Eloise Peck and Ellen Gayton also filed two separate challenges in Travis County.
The lawsuit filed by Peck’s family alleges that the camp received warnings from family members About the dangers of floods And note that many of the hard-hit cabins at Camp Mystic were located in a high-risk area, as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The lawsuit described the tragedy as “predictable and preventable” and said the camp had failed to take responsibility for the victims’ deaths, instead protecting its “reputation and financial interests.”
The complaint filed by the Bellows, Bonner, DeWitt, Landry, McCrory, Childress and Ferruzzo families seeks $1 million in damages, as does the lawsuit filed by the Peck family.
The Hill has contacted Mikal Watts, the Texas attorney representing the camp, for comment on the lawsuit. In September, the camp said its Cypress Lake location, but not the Guadalupe River site, would reopen next summer.
