Sure to be joined by many others.
In the weeks since devastating floods hit Central Texas, killing 119 people in Kerr County — including 39 children — much has been made of various investigations, legislative proposals, and potential lawsuits over what went wrong in the early morning hours of July 4. Questions remain over where exactly to place blame for the high death toll, and to what extent.
A new lawsuit, filed in Kerr County on Tuesday, appeared to be the first to make a direct claim.
The eight-page complaint was filed on behalf of the family of Jayda Christeel Floyd, a 22-year-old from Odessa, Texas, who died after floodwaters swept through a luxury RV park — or “glamping resort” — and campground on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. The suit was first reported by KSAT and KENS5 and seeks at least $1 million in damages, claiming gross negligence against the investors, owners, operators, and general manager of the HTR TX Hill Country Resort.
Floyd was staying at the resort with her fiancé, 23-year-old Bailey Martin, a City of Odessa police officer, and his family when the river swelled 26 feet in 45 minutes before dawn that Friday morning.
Entire homes and RVs full of families were carried off all along the river, where the extraordinary “once in a century” event also swept through cabins full of eight-year-olds at a private all-girls camp. The youngest victims were 1 year old.
Like dozens of other Texans spending the holiday weekend on the river, Floyd and Martin were awoken suddenly by the sound of rising waters, then helped Martin’s teenage step-siblings climb onto the roof of the RV, saving their lives, according to a press release issued by attorneys on Tuesday. The couple were swept away with their RV, according to the lawsuit.
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A spokesperson for HTR TX Hill Country responded to the lawsuit in a statement to Fox 7 Austin by saying that the company had not yet been served with the complaint but had reviewed a copy, rejected its “fundamental thrust,” and “will be prepared to vigorously defend ourselves in court.”
“Our hearts go out to Ms. Floyd’s family, her fiancé, and other loved ones — and to all of those who were impacted by the flooding that devastated the Kerrville community,” the statement said. “As has been widely acknowledged by state and local authorities, meteorologists, and other experts, no one could have anticipated the unprecedented severity and rapid onset of the flooding that occurred and that exposed serious failures in public warning systems and emergency response protocols.”
A press release from the plaintiff’s law firm is here, and a copy of the lawsuit is linked in the story. The basic allegation is that businesses like HTR TX Hill Country knew the risks of flooding – remember there was a flood in 1987 that killed ten campers – but lacked monitoring or alerting capabilities and had no evacuation plan. You know, like there has never been any mandate for them to have. One way or another, I think that aspect of this tragedy will come to an end. Spectrum News has more.