The family of a Texas father of four has filed a lawsuit claiming he was “fatally crushed” by a preventable tree collapse while dining at a barbecue restaurant.
Kirk Foyle, 64, died following a May 19 incident at Green Mesquite BBQ in Austin, Fox 7 reported, citing the lawsuit. According to the complaint, Foyle was eating on the restaurant’s outdoor patio as storms moved through the area when a pecan tree fell onto him.
The complaint refers to the tree as a “Widow Maker” and says it stood at 1410 Barton Springs Road, with portions extending over Green Mesquite’s patio, where Foyle was seated, according to the outlet.
The lawsuit alleges the tree was never adequately inspected by employees or management at Green Mesquite or at the neighboring business Aspen Hatter, even though it was “located on, or in part on, property owned and controlled” by the businesses.
According to the complaint, staff at the two local businesses allowed the tree — which allegedly displayed signs of disease — to rot and deteriorate without warning customers or taking steps to maintain or remove it.
Green Mesquite BBQ and nearby property owners are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
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The complaint claims the defendants “knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known,” that the tree was dangerous, diseased, decayed or structurally compromised, and failed to inspect it, maintain it, remove it or warn people about the risk.
“Prior to May 19, 2026, the Widow Maker was in a dangerous, compromised, decayed, diseased, and/or structurally defective condition,” the lawsuit states. It further alleges that the hazardous condition was visible or could have been found through a reasonable inspection, and had existed long enough that the defendants knew or should have known about it.
According to the Foyle family, he was sitting on the outdoor patio when the tree “suddenly and violently broke at or near its base and fell” as storms were moving through the area. Foyle’s cause of death was determined to be blunt trauma sustained as a result of being struck by a falling tree branch, according to the Travis County Deputy Medical Examiner, the complaint says.
Green Mesquite has alleged that the tree was struck by lightning the night it crushed Foyle, but his family and their attorneys contend that this never happened and that the lack of upkeep was the reason for his death, according to Law & Crime.
The filing also claims that the property owners of the area where the tree was located took out a $960,000 deed of trust used to refinance the property just a week after Foyle’s death.
The defendants are accused of gross negligence, and the Foyle family is seeking $1,000,000 in damages related to the man’s death, mental anguish and legal costs.
Fox News Digital reached out to Green Mesquite and Aspen Hatter for comment.
