A Washington state mother endured an unthinkable ordeal while at work when her three-year-old son was brought into the hospital where she was on duty after being crushed by a monument at a local park.
Kaleb Ortega sustained fatal injuries on April 1 when a structure fell on him at Rooks Park in Walla Walla, a city in southern Washington near the Oregon border.
His grieving parents, Claudia and Miguel Garcia, have filed a lawsuit against multiple companies connected to the monument’s construction, seeking emotional damages and alleging the landmark was not “reasonably safe.”
According to the lawsuit, obtained by the Union-Bulletin, Kaleb was visiting the park with his father and five-year-old sister when the monument “fell in a matter of seconds and crushed” him. Emergency crews transported the boy to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Kaleb’s mother, who was working as a nurse at the hospital at the time, saw her son arrive by ambulance — an experience the lawsuit says caused profound trauma and emotional distress.
The monument was dedicated to Captain Albert H. Rooks and the USS Houston CA-30. Following the fatal incident, Rooks Park remained closed for two weeks.
The tragedy was also detailed on a GoFundMe page created to support Kaleb’s family.
“On what started as a normal, happy day filled with play, an unimaginable accident occurred that took Kaleb from us far too soon,” the fundraiser stated.
Kaleb Ortega, three, has died after he was crushed by a monument in a Washington state park – and his nurse mother found out when he was rushed to her hospital
Kaleb, pictured with his mother, suffered fatal injuries when the edifice struck him on April 1 at Rooks Park in Walla Walla, located in the south of the state close to the Oregon border
Rooks Park, where the horror unfolded, is a public recreational ground in Walla Walla County operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers
‘On what started as a normal, happy day filled with play, an unimaginable accident occurred that took Kaleb from us far too soon,’ the page read.
‘No one could have anticipated the heartbreak that would follow.’
Kaleb was remembered as ‘a joyful, busy little boy who filled every moment with life’.
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‘While we are overwhelmed with grief, we are also holding tightly to the countless beautiful memories he gave us memories that feel like precious gifts.’
‘He was always on the move, happiest when he was playing, exploring, and especially when he was with his big sister, his best friend,’ the page read.
‘The two of them spent hours together, laughing, playing, and making memories that their family will hold onto forever.’
The lawsuit, filed in Walla Walla County Superior Court, lists Boulder Designs, Boulder Designs Franchising LLC, Border Magic and Builders FirstSource Inc as defendants.
American Rock Products, Wenzel Nursery, Neil Binder and the Binder marital community and Double T Construction Ltd are also named as defendants.
Kaleb was remembered as ‘a joyful, busy little boy who filled every moment with life’
Kaleb’s family has sued the companies involved in the creation and installation of the monument for negligence, claiming the product was not ‘reasonably safe’
The fundraising page for Kaleb’s family says his older sister was ‘his best friend’
The May 12 lawsuit alleged that one or more of the companies were negligent in the design of the monument, or that it lacked appropriate warnings.
The family is seeking emotional damages due to the distress Kaleb’s father and sister suffered at the scene, and his mother in the hospital.
Defendants have yet to file responses to the family’s lawsuit.
Rooks Park, where the horror unfolded, is a public recreational ground in Walla Walla County operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The Corps of Engineers closed the park for two weeks after Kaleb’s death ‘to ensure something like that doesn’t happen again’ and ‘out of respect for those involved’.
