Camp Mystic could have redeemed themselves by being transparent about what happened. They instead chose to pretend like it never happened and so here we are.
The operators of Camp Mystic in Texas, where 25 girls and two teenage counselors died in catastrophic flooding on July 4, failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached, families of the victims allege in a lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in state court in Austin, seeks more than $1 million in damages but does not specify an exact amount. It was filed as Camp Mystic has drawn renewed outrage from several victims’ families over plans to reopen the 100-year-old camp next summer.
Among the claims in the lawsuit is that a groundskeeper was directed to spend more than an hour evacuating equipment while girls and counselors in cabins closest to the Guadalupe River were ordered to remain there, even as floodwaters overwhelmed the property.
The lawsuit was filed by the families of five campers and the two counselors who died.
“These young girls died because a for-profit camp put profit over safety,” the lawsuit said. “The camp chose to house young girls in cabins sitting in flood-prone areas, despite the risk, to avoid the cost of relocating the cabins.”
The suit also alleges the operators of the camp chose not to make plans to safely evacuate campers, despite state rules requiring such plans, and instead ordered campers and counselors to remain in their cabins as a matter of policy.