Braxton Taylor
A wall inside a pool locker room that collapsed and killed a teen at an Air Force base in Georgia last summer was not properly anchored or constructed, an accident investigation report revealed.
Gabriel Stone, 14, from Warner Robins, Georgia, died on July 22 after the concrete wall at Robins Air Force Base’s Heritage Club pool bathhouse collapsed on him and his three friends.
The 28-page report, released late last month, found there had been no major construction or additions to the pool since it was constructed in 1969, and that it was not properly built up to building standards required at that time.
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“Although required by standard building codes when it was designed and constructed, the investigation determined the partition wall lacked required anchoring,” according to a press release from Air Force Materiel Command, which commissioned the investigation.
The report said the Standard Building Code at the time would have required “some type of lateral support, which was absent, such as rebar anchors” connecting the base of the wall to the floor or “vertical supports attaching the sides” of the wall and to the floor or ceiling “to prevent overturning,” the investigation states.
Despite that, Air Force Materiel Command said the findings “did not indicate a structural failure,” but that it “fell over after some external force was applied.”
Notably, the report itself does not disclose what action caused the wall to fall, saying scenarios ranged from “no one touching” the wall to “anywhere from 1-3 people climbing” the divider, according to eyewitness testimony. The wall weighed upward of 3,300 pounds and had a bench on either side for pool patrons to sit on.
Stone’s parents retained Atlanta-based attorneys Roderick Edmond — a physician and lawyer — and Shofaetiyah Watson of Edmond and Lindsay LLP following the tragedy, Military.com reported.
The legal team told Military.com on Wednesday that they were aware of the Air Force’s findings and were continuing their probe of the events.
“We are aware of the report recently issued by the Air Force regarding Gabriel Stone’s tragic death at Warner Robins AFB,” Edmond and Watson said in a statement. “It appears the finger-pointing has already begun regarding who exactly is culpable for the deficiencies that led to the wall falling and killing Gabriel. Our investigation is ongoing and we will continue to work to get answers for this grieving family.”
Stone’s father is a former Marine who has access to the base’s facilities and took the group of kids to the pool that July day. Stone and his friends went to the pool bathhouse after the lifeguards announced it was time for adults to swim.
Stone and one of the other boys were struck and pinned by the collapsed wall — killing the 14-year-old as a result of blunt force trauma. The other victim “was treated for five broken ribs, a punctured lung and a cut above the right eye,” and had to stay in the hospital for 5-6 days, according to the investigation. The other two boys had minor injuries, ranging from a busted lip to a hand laceration.
A grandparent of two of the boys told Military.com last year that the event had been “very traumatic” for them, and that some of them had “survivor’s guilt” from witnessing the incident.
Related: Attorney for Parents of 14-Year-Old Killed in Wall Collapse at Air Force Base Pool Says They’re in ‘Utter Shock’
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