Utah boy, 4, dies after being hit by falling tombstone in historic cemetery

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Boy dies after hit by falling tombstone in Utah (AP via mysanantonio.com)
[PARK CITY] A 4-year-old boy is dead and police are investigating after a large tombstone fell and hit the boy while he and his family were visiting a historic cemetery in a Utah ski resort town.
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The boy was identified as Carson Dean Cheney of Lehi. "This tragic accident has taken the life of our energetic, sweet, beloved little boy," his grandmother, Geri Gibbs, said in a statement.
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[Police Capt. Phil] Kirk said an investigator was at the cemetery Friday morning looking into how and why the 6-foot-tall headstone fell.
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Bruce Erickson, president of the Glenwood Cemetery Association, said [....] officials aren't sure whether the family that placed the historic tombstone still exists.
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more at link above
 
OMG that is terrible. That poor family. What very bizarre and unexpected way to go.

RIP Carson
 
Very sad. At the risk of sounding a little "off" in the head, I enjoy visiting historic cemeteries.
 
Very sad. At the risk of sounding a little "off" in the head, I enjoy visiting historic cemeteries.

I do, too. I enjoy cemeteries in general, but I adore the ones that have some history and dates behind them. I loved the ones in Connecticut when I was there years ago...and when I went to Mississippi, that was one of the things we did - go around to the cemeteries and let me roam. It was great.

What happened here is tragic indeed, though. How horrible, and freak-accident-ish. That poor family.

Best-
Herding Cats
 
Boy killed by falling tombstone was helping dad (AP via newsok.com)
A 4-year-old Utah boy was trying to make other children smile for a photograph when a 6-foot-tall tombstone that weighed hundreds of pounds fell on him and killed him at a historic cemetery, family members and friends said.
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The boy's father, Zac Cheney, does photography in his spare time and was taking portraits of another family at the Glenwood Cemetery, said Curtis Morley, a co-worker and family friend.
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Morley said some of the children being photographed were not being responsive, so Carson tried to help his dad by pretending to be leprechaun and making them laugh. The boy went behind a tombstone and was poking his head out from behind it when it fell on him.

"Carson passed away while trying to make others smile," said Morley, who works with Cheney at a professional services firm in Salt Lake City.
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more at link above
 
PATX and Herding Cats, I don't think there's anything the least "odd" about enjoying cemeteries. They are genuine historical sites and usually quite peaceful and beautiful.
 
That is just horrible. I also explore old cemeteries and have never thought of this kind of incident happening. I will be more alert now.

You know, I sometimes wonder why I got to live to 51 (so far) and someone else like this child only got 4 years on the planet. I'm not suicidal in the least, but if given an option I would trade with them and let them have a life while I went on to heaven. We aren't given that choice, though.

Prayers to his family and friends.
 
I love old cemetaries. Earlier this evening I was wandering around our little country one with my daughter, some of the stones there date from the 1600s.
I found my eldest daughters name from a tomb in Kensal Green cemetary
 
Very sad. At the risk of sounding a little "off" in the head, I enjoy visiting historic cemeteries.

RIP Carson... :rose:

I, too, so enjoy visiting historic graveyards/cemeteries...

I have never thought them to be dangerous... maybe just a little spooky... :ghost:
 
I should have been a sexton. Graveyards have always fascinated me.
 
Four year-old boy was crushed to death by a 250-pound tombstone which fell because of 'shoddy maintenance', court hears

Carson Dean Cheney's death 'had been caused by a lack of proper care by those in charge of the historic Park City, Utah,' lawyers argued

At trial, lawyers for the child said the cemetery association had even welcomed visitors to the graveyard without warnings about the headstones

The boy was visiting the area with his family so his father could take pictures of friends who were having a family reunion

During a photo shoot, the stone weighing more than 250 pounds fell on him, crushing him between it and a footstone in the ground killing him

His family are seeking $300,000 in damages during the trial that started on Tuesday and is expected to last four days

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ens-suit-filed-Utah-boy-killed-tombstone.html
 
I am a huge old cemetery buff. Some of the inscriptions are incredible, and touching. There's this one near here with the inscription, "She did what she could". How wonderful is that?

That said, I can't believe parents would allow kids to climb on old crumbling tombstones. Not only is it really disrespectful, it's dangerous as they found out. When you walk around a cemetery, you see broken tombstones, and cracked and leaning ones, and ones that are propped up against their bases.

Maybe I only know this because I love old cemeteries, and know they aren't playgrounds, and the tombstones aren't supposed to stand up to wear like play ground equipment.

We just went to Arlington National Cemetery, where there are signs all over the place "Please be respectfully quiet" and "No Recreation" and still you see groups of adults just yukking it up together, carrying on, and hooting like they're at the beach.

Sad for this boy. I feel like the parents should have known not to allow this child to climb on that very large old tombstone, the way parents at the zoo should know not to dangle small children over lion cages. So sad for the child.
 
That poor child. I feel sorry for his family. RIP
Cemeteries have always creeped me out.
 

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