Nearly one year after a freak accident killed two young siblings, their parents, Brian and Crystal Clark are on a mission to raise awareness about the dangers of dead trees.
Xander Clark, 9, and his sister Ziva Clark, 8, were killed in April 2022 during a family camping trip when a dead tree fell on top of the golf cart they were riding in with their family. Their parents, Brian and Crystal, were not injured in the accident.
“Unfortunately, I remember all of that day. We heard a very loud noise. We weren’t sure what it was,” Crystal recalled.
The idea to honor their children with a series of billboards came to Crystal a few months after her children’s deaths.
“My whole thought of a billboard came a few months after the kids had passed, to where I can share who they were and how great of kids they were, but also spread awareness of something that isn’t ever thought of really by a parent until it actually affects you or a family member,” she told Good Morning America.
“You expect your child to fall out of a tree, not a tree to fall on them, but apparently, deaths by tree are not as uncommon as we all thought. So to me, that’s why it is important to get the word out,” Brian said.
“It was just a sight that you hoped you never had to see,” Brian said, describing the aftermath of a dead tree’s limbs falling on top of his family’s golf cart.
The Clarks had been camping at a Cloverdale, Indiana campground when the horrific incident occurred.
“We heard a very loud noise, almost sounded like a plane crashing into the woods,” Crystal said. “Next thing we know, the tree had fallen. It was too late for us to notice it and I shouted, ‘Our babies!’ and Brian and I got off the golf cart and that’s where we saw that they were gone.”
Following their children’s deaths they began to hear from other families who lived a similar nightmare. That’s when they learned suffering an injury or dying as the result of a falling tree wasn’t as uncommon as they had previously believed.
Brian and Crystal wanted to raise awareness about a subject few discussed.
With the help of Lamar Advertising Company, the family placed 10 billboards around central Indiana.
The billboards, which feature a picture of Xander and Ziva, urge people to check their trees.
“We are showing thousands your billboard in hopes to save a life, what a legacy babies you’ve left in this world!!!” Crystal shared on Facebook.
“If you save one more life, that to me, is a good thing,” Brian said.
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This is such a wonderful way to honor Xander and Ziva. Brian is right, if the campaign is able to save just one life, it was worth it.
My prayers are with the Clark family.
Please share this story to spread awareness about the dangers of dead trees.
