Snellville Middle School Student, 13, dies in accident

A 13 year old Snellville Middle School student, Christopher Thomas, died in a tragic accident during Spring Break when a tree fell on him. The Principal of Snellville Middle sent out an email and a letter to parents of all grades to let them know what had happened. I didn't plan to blog about it until it hit the general press. Now the story is in local news media.

The tree was apparently rotted and had termites, and from what I've heard - in the way that "boys will be boys," Christopher and a friend or relative his age were kicking the tree. I know that's what my kids would have been doing, if they had been there. That's just a thing kids like to do. I'm very sad for this family, and the child's dad is right, we must tell our kids we love them every day, you never know what could happen.

Now the insurance company is working to find out who owns the land where the tree is, and are they responsible for the upkeep of the trees? It could be owned by the homeowner's association.
They'll probably have to have surveyors and such come out and determine property lines.

One of the problems I've seen with insurance companies and trees is, if you have a tree on your property and you know it's rotten or termite ridden, and you call your insurance company - they will tell you they will not pay to have the tree removed. The insurance company will only pay if the tree comes down and crushes a house or a person. I found this out when my father called State Farm Insurance to inquire about a tree he needed removed. It seems like it would be less in the long run for the insurance company to cover dangerous tree removal, doesn't it?