The families of the flood victims in Texas are suing Camp Mystic for gross negligence following the deaths of 27 young girls and counselors.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, is from the families of five Camp Mystic campers and two counselors who died during the July 4 flooding. It alleges that the camp officials' failure to evacuate the camp ultimately resulted in the untimely deaths.
Camp Mystic Flooding Victims' Families File Lawsuit
During the disastrous floods, more than 130 people lost their lives throughout Central Texas, which includes 25 campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic, who are being called "Heaven's 27" by their families.
The lawsuit was filed in the Travis County district court and shows the plaintiffs seeking more than $1 million in damages. The filing comes after months of scrutiny targeting Camp Mystic's response to the tragic flooding and the placement of several of its cabins in a floodplain, according to The Texas Tribune.
Specifically, the lawsuit names several members of the Eastland family, who own and operate Camp Mystic, as defendants. This includes the estate of Richard "Dick" Eastland, who died during the floods trying to save several campers.
Read more: Parents of Camp Mystic Flooding Victims Call on Officials To Implement Better Safety Measures
In a statement, the father of nine-year-old Molly DeWitt, Ryan DeWitt, said that they carry the memory of his daughter in everything that they do. He noted that this legal step was made to honor his child and the other victims.
The lawsuit claims that the victims tragically lost their lives because a for-profit camp put profit over safety. There was another lawsuit that was filed in the same court on Monday by the parents of eight-year-old Eloise Peck. It presents a similar description of inadequate emergency planning, the New York Times reported.
The Camp's Gross Negligence
Since the tragedy, members of the Eastland family have provided little public information about their actions during the flooding. Additionally, their lawyer, Mikal Watts, did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
However, Watts previously discussed the incident, calling the evacuation of the camp "orderly" and mostly successful. The lawyer's account broadly matched the timeline that is laid out in the recently filed lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues that Camp Mystic chose not to evacuate the Bubble Inn and Twins cabins, even though other campers and counselors had already been moved to safe, higher ground only 300 feet away. It said the camp instead ordered its campers and counselors to remain in the Bubble Inn and Twins cabins while the floodwater overwhelmed them, as per CNN.
