JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A teenager is still in the hospital weeks after a tree limb fell on him.
It's tough for Ken Stewart to come out to his nephew's home. It's where 15-year-old Aubrey Stewart was crushed by a tree limb June 27th. "He's having problems below the waist, trauma in the back, and behind his head," said his uncle, Ken Stewart.
Aubrey is paralyzed from the waist down. Now, three weeks later, his uncle says the neighborhood is still a danger zone. "This is new stuff. It's still falling. I don't know when it'll stop," said Stewart.
The tree the city marked for trimming before Aubrey was hurt is dropping more branches. Neighbors tell us they have been trying to get the city to do something about the rotting trees since last year. Action News pulled those complaints. They document falling limbs, damage to cars and one caller suggested an entire tree would fall one day. A few months later, it did.
So Action News went to get answers from the city. In an email, a city spokesperson told Action News the tree in Aubrey's neighborhood is on the city's list for removal. She says that list is prioritized based on the condition of the tree. The more severe, the higher the priority. Stewart feels his nephew's injury should have shot that tree to the top of that list. "Yes it's frustrating. It's a hurt to the family to see this accident still in place," said Stewart.
The city spokesperson couldn't tell Action News why the tree has not been taken care of almost three weeks after those limbs came crashing down. Now Aubrey's family just wants to know what it will take to make the neighborhood safe for kids again. 'It's going to continue to happen until they do something about it," said Stewart.
A spokesperson for the city tells Action News she's asked when the tree will be removed. Again, it's on the removal list, but she didn't think she'd get an answer from public works until Wednesday.
