The father of a four-year-old boy who was tragically killed at a San Diego play park described his desperate final act to save his son from a falling tree.
Cathal Kerr was playing with his sons, Charlie, seven, and Ronan, four, when a 34-foot-long branch from a eucalyptus tree fell from more than 30 feet above them.
While the father of two managed to push his eldest son out of harms way, Ronan was tragically killed in the incident.
‘My love for him is just so immense, so immense still. I miss him every second of the day,’ he told CBS 8. ‘There’s not really a second that goes by that he’s not on my mind.’
Kerr recalled to the outlet how his instincts quickly kicked in as he heard the branch snap and he rushed toward his children.
While Kerr managed to push Charlie and his friend out of the way of the branch, as he grabbed Ronan a thick piece of the tree slammed on top of them.
‘It just happened so fast, you know, I got my hands on Ronan, and next thing I remember, I woke up on the ground,’ Kerr told the outlet.
He woke up to find his youngest son lying next to him with his eyes open but unresponsive.
Ronan Kerr, four, died from his injuries after being struck on the head by the falling branch at Villa La Jolla park
Ronan’s father, Cathal Kerr seen above, described his efforts to push his children out of the way of the falling branch
Ronan spent seven days in hospital before his parents took him off of life support
Kerr called the boys’ mother, Dara Kerr, as other park goers called 911.
When emergency responders arrived Kerr recalled that they had to force the resistant father into the ambulance.
‘I did not want to go in there, but four or five firefighters literally had to pin me down and strap me to the gurney, and put me in the ambulance,’ he told the outlet.
Ronan and his mother, Dara, were taken in a separate ambulance to Rady Children’s Hospital, while Kerr was transported to Sharp Memorial.
Kerr sustained a traumatic brain injury, a fractured nose, bruised ribs, and an injury to his left leg, while Ronan spent the following week on life support.
‘It was awful, it was awful,’ Dara Kerr told the outlet. ‘You just hold your breath the entire time.’
She recalled a group of doctor’s discussing her son’s condition, but said she knew it wasn’t looking hopeful.
‘We spent a week in the hospital. We didn’t leave his side. We never left the hospital,’ she continued. ‘He was on life support. He had the tubes, he had wires, he had things all in him, so I couldn’t even really touch and hug my boy.’
The young boy was struck on the head by the above branch that broke off more than 30 feet above him, his brother and father
Kerr, seen here, suffered a traumatic brain injury, lacerations to his face and broken bones
But after seven days, the couple heartbreakingly decided to take their son off of life support.
‘We were there and listened to his last breath,’ Dara Kerr added.
Ronan’s handprints and footprints were made into jewelry for the grief stricken mother. Nurses also recorded Ronan’s heartbeat, which was then put onto a media player inside of a white teddy bear.
‘Just not to have him and his companionship is something that my heart will never get over,’ Kerr said. ‘He was such a big part of our family. We’re broken. We’re broken.’
‘He just felt like he was my best friend, and whatever love I gave him, he gave back, and we were just this perfect little pair, my boy,’ Dara Kerr told the outlet.
‘There is not a second that goes by that he doesn’t cross my mind, and I’m constantly having conversations with him. I talk to him all the time, and that’s what gets me through.’
The teddy bear now sits on the couple’s bedside to remind them of Ronan, while they have sued the city of San Diego.
Kerr and his wife filed a wrongful death suit on November 4 over their son’s death and claims that the city failed to maintain and inspect the city’s trees.
The young boy is survived by his mother Dara, left, and his father Cathal, right, who had tried to save his son during the horrific incident
Ronan’s final heartbeat was recorded and put onto a media player inside of a teddy bear for the grieving family
Kerr and his wife, Dara Kerr seen above, filed a wrongful death suit on November 4 over their son’s death and claims that the city failed to maintain and inspect the city’s trees
‘This pain is just unbearable, and if we could just save another family from having to go through this, it’ll be worth it,’ Kerr told the outlet.
‘I think it’s natural to second-guess your actions and your movements that day, but it never crossed my mind in a million years that this would happen. It’s a park. It’s supposed to be safe. It’s where you take your family to go play.’
The couple’s attorney, Bibi Fell, claimed that the city was aware of the danger that eucalyptus trees pose to public safety.
Fell told CBS 8 that eucalyptus trees are known as a ‘danger well-known to arborists.’
‘They are not native to California, and when planted in irrigated parks, they rot, decay and their large limbs can come crashing down,’ Fell continued.
‘This particular tree showed signs of danger that should have been obvious to the City and its contractors. This lawsuit seeks to hold the City accountable for its failure to maintain and monitor the trees in our parks, which should be a safe place for San Diego families.’
According to the lawsuit, the tree’s branches were said to have been ‘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 complaint listed over 30 instances from 1983 to 2005 in which tree branches or eucalyptus trees have fallen in the city, including in the Villa La Jolla park.
Ronan’s family are seeking financial damages and requesting all eucalyptus trees deemed dangerous be removed or properly maintained.
The mission for the Kerr family is to honor Ronan and hopefully prevent another family from enduring the pain and grief they have.
