Georgia parents sue U.S. Air Force after 3,200-pound wall falls, kills teen

“I don’t want anyone, and I mean no one, to have to go through this,” Gabriel’s mother, Timberly Stone, said Tuesday.

Stone and Gabriel’s father, Camalle Stone, filed the suit against the federal government, the U.S. Air Force, and yet-unidentified defendants who, the Stones say, should have had the wall inspected. Attorneys for the Stones say the family still needs answers.

“We want accountability,” attorney Shofaetiyah Watson said. “We want an explanation. And our goal is to make sure that nothing like his ever happens again to another family.”

The Air Force declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.

The U.S. Air Force conducted an investigation into the wall collapse and provided those findings to Gabriel’s parents in recent weeks. But there are still unanswered questions, including who built the wall and who should have been responsible for making sure it was safe, the Stone’s attorneys said.

The family is concerned it could happen again because similar walls may have been built on various other bases, including others in Georgia, Watson said.

Camalle Stone, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, said he had taken his sons and their friends to the Heritage Club Pool many times. He wanted Gabriel to know how to swim, instead of learning later in life as he had, Stone said.

The father and son had planned to play basketball that morning, but the court was wet so they changed their plans. Stone never imagined it would cost his son’s life.

After swimming, Gabriel and other boys were in the bath house when one of his brothers, 17, scaled the wall to retrieve a personal item that had fallen into a hole in the blocks atop the wall on a prior visit. Then another boy climbed on the wall, causing it to shift, lawyers have said.

Gabriel tried to stabilize the partition with help from his brother. But the cement blocks fell on Gabriel. Three other in the locker room were injured, but Gabriel’s injuries were the most severe.

Lifeguards and the teen’s father worked to free him from under the debris, the lawsuit states. Gabriel screamed in pain before falling unconscious. Despite life-saving measures, the teen died from his injuries. An autopsy conducted by the GBI determined Gabriel died from blunt impact of trauma to his head.

“I still feel like a military base is safe place,” Camalle Stone said. “But inspections still need to be done. There are a lot of kids running around there. That never crossed my mind that my son could lose his life on base.”

Gabriel’s mother said losing her son has been devastating. The teen made good grades and was set to start classes at Northside High School in Warner Robins days after he was killed. Her son made friends wherever he went.

“Gabriel was just a beautiful soul.” Timberly Stone said. “If Gabriel was around, you were always smiling.”