Iowa 4-Year-Old Dies in Freak Accident After Colorado Tree Falls on Him as Children Played on Zipline

It's nighttime, there are blurred police sirens in the distance, there is a line of tape going across the photo reading "POLICE DO NOT CROSS"
A 4-year-old boy dies after a tree toppled over him while playing with other kids.Getty

“This really looks like nothing more than a very unfortunate accident," said Jacki Kelley with the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office.

A four-year-old boy from Iowa died after a tree fell on him during a visit to Colorado on July 15.

Several children were using a slackline or zipline when one of the trees it was anchored to broke way and fell, a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said.

“This really looks like nothing more than a very unfortunate accident. But these kids were just out playing on this either slack line or zip line when one of the two trees gave away,” Jacki Kelley with the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office told FOX 31. 

“Think it’s been a tough morning for all the kids who were out playing because they were witness to the accident. So we have victim advocates out here and we have a team of investigators.”

The line was apparently fastened to two dead trees, investigators told WHO 13. 

Investigators said the incident appeared to be an accident and do not believe anything criminal in nature occurred, FOX 31 reported.

Neighbors said that a 14-year-old girl injured her leg while trying to assist the child and was taken to the hospital, according to FOX 31.

The boy’s identification has not yet been released.

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