"I hope no other kid goes through, or no other family, has to go through the same situation because it's senseless,” a family member said.
A Tennessee family was left devastated when a young boy lost his life in a tragic garage door accident. Another family in Florida shared the same experience one year later, according to reports.
Both families say they are pursuing legal action in an effort to prevent an incident like this from happening again.
"I hope no other kid goes through, or no other family, has to go through the same situation because it's senseless,” Charkia Summers said according to WESH 2.
Summers' nephew, Dedric "D.T." Holt, 7, and his younger cousins were playing on a garage gate at an apartment complex in Tennessee in June 2020, the site reported.
The garage door had open, see-through bars, and Holt was standing on the door, hanging onto the bars with his hands, according to Summers' legal complaint, WESH 2 said.
According to the complaint, the other kids who were with him started turning the garage door on and off, leading to Holt’s body getting caught and crushed as the gate rolled up, the outlet reported.
Summers claims she later learned that a family in Orlando, Florida, experienced the same incident the following year, ABC 7 reported.
In a lawsuit filed on the Florida family's behalf, attorneys allege Jacob Alexander Joseph, 6, held onto the bottom of the garage door's automated curtain and was caught in the gate as it rolled up, WESH 2 reported. Lawyers claim that no sensors or audible alarms went off as the gate closed, the site reported.
"I hope that they have made changes, not only to the two gates that caused these two young boys their life but if there are other gates out there," Summers said according to ABC 7.
Summers is seeking $2,750,000 in damages according to a significant litigation report by the Metropolitan Government Of Nashville And Davidson County.
Metro Development & Housing Agency, one of the defendants in the Tennessee lawsuit, told Inside Edition Digital that due to the pending litigation, they are unable to comment.
The garage door sales company in the Tennessee case submitted a motion to dismiss the case, though a judge has not yet ruled on it, according to WESH 2.
The defendants denied all accusations in the Orlando case, which is pending, and argue in part, that their actions did not cause Joseph’s death, the outlet reported.
