Have you seen the signs to 'check your trees'? Here's the heartbreaking story behind them
The Clark siblings were close.
Born a year and three months apart, the brother and sister had separate interests, but always enjoyed each other's company.
"It was instant, they loved each other," said Crystal Clark, the children's mother. "Every once in a while they would have their little tiffs but 10 minutes later they would be playing again. They never knew any different."
Then the unthinkable happened April 23, 2022, shattering the Clark family forever.
Xander and Ziva Clark: Outgoing and fun-loving kids
Alexander, who went by Xander, was 9 years old and in 3rd grade. He excelled in martial arts and was a 4th Level 1st Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. He liked mentoring younger kids at Taekwondo and loved basketball so much that he would shoot the ball in his driveway at 7:30 a.m. before school.
Ziva, 8, was a gymnast at Westside Gymnastics & Cheer in Indianapolis. She practiced daily on her balance beam and bars. The family even had a balance beam she practiced on at their campground.
“She could have gone a lot of places with that, and her dream was to be an Olympian,” Crystal Clark said. “She worked hard at every single practice and lesson."
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The family found a home away from Indianapolis at an Owen County campground, where they enjoyed fishing and spending time with each other.
It was a warm, spring day with temperatures reaching 80 degrees in Central Indiana on the day Alexander and Ziva were killed. The family had wrapped up lunch. They enjoyed leftovers, ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, then went for a ride on a golf cart at the campground.
"It was a bit windy, but we didn't really think a whole lot about it because it was so nice outside,” Crystal Clark said.
A large tree fell and struck the golf cart killing the children. Their parents were also in the golf cart. The felled tree left them physically unharmed, but emotionally they may never recover.
Planting seeds they hope will save lives
Now, Crystal and Brian Clark are raising awareness of the dangers of falling trees. They are encouraging other people to check for dead or damaged trees, especially after storms, heavy winds and rainy days.
“We just want to plant that seed and make people more aware,” Crystal Clark said
For two weeks in March, 10 billboards across Central Indiana had photos of Alexander and Ziva with a message warning others to check trees. Both children are smiling in the photos with Xander dressed for Taekwondo and Ziva wearing a gymnastics leotard.
“I want everyone to remember them for the fun-loving people they were,” Brian Clark said of his kids. “I also hope people don't have to feel the pain we feel.”
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Crystal Clark came up with the idea for the billboards a few months after the accident and then worked with an advertising company to make it happen. One of the billboards, off Interstate 70 near the family’s campground, was still up as of Tuesday.
The family’s story and their message has spread. They have been featured in national media outlets, including the Washington Post and Good Morning America. Advertisements in local magazines in Avon, Plainfield and Brownsburg will continue to share the family’s story next month.
Crystal Clark has heard from people across the country letting her know they are taking her advice and checking their trees.
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"We want the legacy of our children to save a life,” Crystal Clark said.
Between 1995 and 2007 more than 405 people were killed by falling trees, a study by Thomas W. Schmidlin with Kent State University found.
Falling tree kills mother, great-grandfather in Putnam County
Less than a year after tragedy struck the Clark family, a falling tree killed a mother and great-grandfather about 25 miles north in Putnam County.
Brooke Miles, 46, and Richard Miles Sr., 64, were killed when a 64-foot Ash tree fell on their vehicle as they drove on County Road 500 North. One man and two children, also in the vehicle, survived the accident on the evening of March 3.
Conditions went from high winds and heavy rain to a wintery mix of ice and snow right before the tree fell on the Miles’ family vehicle, said Chief Kelly Russ of Putnam County EMS.
“It was a horrible day,” Russ said.
Brooke Miles was a kindergarten teacher at Bainbridge Elementary.
“She left behind a classroom of little kids who loved her,” said the woman’s former colleague Cheryl Crosby. “She also left behind a family who loved her and there's a lot of heartache that goes with that.”
Crosby started a GoFundMe page to assist Brooke Miles' husband and their eight children after the accident.
Richard Miles Sr. served in the Army National Guard then worked for many years as a mechanic. He enjoyed antique cars, building model cars, fishing, camping, old music, singing karaoke, and his family, according to his obituary.
Russ has seen the Putnam County community come together to support the Miles family and take action to prevent another tragedy.
"Almost every day I drive to work there's a new tree service somewhere on the side of the road taking down dead and damaged trees,” Russ said. “People are taking the initiative to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
How to protect your family and others from falling trees
A hazard tree is a tree that has a structural defect that makes it likely to fail in whole or in part, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Trees become defective from age, fire and disease.
The forest service recommends the following safety tips:
Be aware of your surroundings as trees can fall without warning. Be particularly watchful when it's windy or following a snowstorm when branches are covered with snow.
Avoid parking or camping in areas where trees could fall.
Avoid dense patches of dead trees.
Trees without needles, bark or limbs may indicate structural defects. Trees with broken tops, scars, numerous downed limbs, ants or an abundance of woodpecker holes may have internal rot.
Look up and check the trees while on trails, especially when it’s windy.
Stay out of the forest when there are strong winds that could blow down trees. If you are already in the forest when winds kick up, head to a clearing out of reach of any potential falling trees.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: After falling tree kills Indianapolis siblings, parents take action
