Lucas Schwartz Obituary, Death; – A 12-year-old boy tragically lost his life when a tree fell on him while he was playing in his backyard on Monday afternoon.
According to Lawrence Township Police Chief Christopher Longo, the boy was in the backyard of his residence on Eldridge Avenue with a friend shortly after noon. First responders were able to extricate the boy from beneath the tree and administered CPR. He was subsequently transported to Capital Health System Regional Medical Center in Trenton, where he was pronounced deceased, as reported by Longo.
Investigators attribute the incident to strong winds that caused the tree to topple near a play area. Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow from New Jersey 101.5 noted that a brisk west-northwest wind had just begun to intensify, with weather stations in Trenton and Hopewell recording gusts exceeding 25 mph around that time. As per the school calendar, students in the district were not in attendance on Monday due to a professional development day.
Robyn Klim, Superintendent of the Lawrence Township School District, identified the boy as Lucas Schwartz, a seventh grader at Lawrence Middle School, in a letter to the school community. She expressed that the district is “heartbroken” over the loss and conveyed “heartfelt sympathy” to his family.
Counselors will be present at the school today to support students and staff. Therapy dogs and representatives from the Mercer County Traumatic Loss Coalition will also be available. Klim stated, “The Mercer County Traumatic Loss Coalition will be at the LMS Library to assist parents with ways to provide support through the grieving process. This will be open to parents/guardians only.”
