JENNINGS, Missouri — Severe weather toppled a massive tree on Saturday afternoon and crushed a home in Jennings, killing a 5-year-old boy inside his bedroom.
According to the St. Louis County Police Department's call records, police received a call at 3:53 reporting the boy was pinned under a tree in the 5200 block of Hamilton Avenue. Officers arrived within two minutes, and first responders worked to free him.
After several rescue attempts, responding personnel were able to free the boy.
Emergency responders took him to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Neighbors knew the young boy as "RJ" or Robert. Officials have identified him as Robert "RJ" Lawrence III.
Manuel Garza, a next-door neighbor who has lived there for more than 45 years, said he and his family enjoyed interacting with him as he played in their front yard.
"Yeah, he was a real nice kid," Garza said.
He and his wife of 67 years were taking a nap in their upstairs bedroom when they heard the commotion and went downstairs to see the carnage.
"They got trapped. The babies got trapped," Garza said. "It got hit by lightning. We heard lightning and all that stuff. And then, the one hit the house where the kids were sleeping, and they were yelling, yelling. And they couldn't do nothing."
"I could hear them," Garza said. "And I said, 'Well, they're going to get them out.' And later on, he got quiet. And they said, 'No, he died.'"
Branches from the same tall tree crashed through Garza's kitchen and upstairs guest room, the only unoccupied bedroom in their home at the time.
"We've been lucky so far," he said. "We just gotta hold on for dear life ... What can we do?"
State Representative Yolonda Fountain Henderson isn't leaving RJ's mother's side.
They already knew each other because Henderson is also on the board of the Jennings School District.
RJ was a student at Fairview Elementary in the Jennings School District.
She immediately started making calls to help his mom find a place to stay.
"He was in the back and mom was communicating with him and came out the restroom and she heard a thump," Henderson said. "She kept calling for him and he was not responding and when she proceeded, she saw the tree and she saw RJ. RJ was kicking, he was alive. She tried to save him and take the debris off of him and give him breaths. She told her son, I am not leaving you."
Henderson noted that she just attended RJ's kindergarten graduation and RJ was excited.
Now, Henderson and other community members are trying to help mom with housing, the funeral costs, and clothing costs for her three-year-old son.
"The JSD Community is devastated by the sudden and tragic loss of one of primary students. The community has come together to lend support to the family- the family has received emergency placement assistance. We will continue to support the family during this incredibly difficult and stressful time."
As of Monday afternoon, a GoFundMe page for the family had raised just over $9,000.
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