The family of 12-day-old Lucas says warnings about the tree went unheeded for more than a year. Prosecutors are treating his death as negligent homicide, and the local council’s position is disputed.
A 12-day-old boy has died after an avocado fell from a tree and struck him on the head as his mother dropped his older brother at a nursery in Quilmes, on the edge of Buenos Aires. Argentine reports name the baby as Lucas Sebastián Gómez. His family says he suffered multiple skull fractures and died days after surgery. His mother, Giuliana Gómez, blames the local council for not pruning or removing the tree. Municipal sources have reportedly said it was in good condition.
What happened outside the nursery
Ms Gómez was carrying Lucas in her arms last week while taking her five-year-old son to Nursery No. 949. According to Infobae, the older boy had already gone inside and staff had closed the entrance when the fruit fell. Reports say the avocado weighed more than a kilo and dropped from a height of over 30 feet.
A witness said Lucas was not bleeding but began to writhe and cry. Ms Gómez told TN that other mothers and nursery staff helped her call 911 and the fire service. The witness said an ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later without the equipment needed to treat the baby. Ms Gómez said the father of her older son arrived and helped get Lucas to hospital. That is the family’s account, not a verified ambulance chronology.
Lucas was treated at the paediatric emergency department of Sanatorio de la Trinidad de Quilmes. Clarín reported that he underwent a three-hour operation and was then diagnosed as brain dead. His aunt, Yamila, told the paper that surgeons stopped the bleeding but a later scan showed catastrophic neurological damage. This is family testimony, not a released medical report. Ms Gómez told Infobae she had been about to take Lucas to his first medical check-up that day.
Complaint filed more than a year earlier
The family says the danger had been flagged. Agencia Noticias Argentinas and Clarín reported that the nursery submitted a formal request to remove a tree at Conesa 385, beside its entrance. It was received at 1.06pm on 8 August 2025 and registered under file number 38329. That is more than 14 months before the incident. Ms Gómez said the council had been asked to cut the tree down since 2025 and failed to prune it.
She also said a father had previously been knocked unconscious by a falling avocado and that other children had narrowly been missed. Describing the entrance, she said three avocado trees overhang the steps used by families. The family’s lawyer, Ariel Gil Cels, told Infobae there had also been complaints about damage to vehicles from falling fruit. Ms Gómez said the council cut the tree down “in secret” after her son’s death.
Council’s position
Sources in Quilmes municipality told Clarín the tree was healthy, needed no maintenance and that the avocado fell naturally. This was reported as information from unnamed municipal sources, not a signed statement or published inspection. Ms Gómez said the authorities put her in touch with a psychologist but that nobody else had called her. “They’re going to have to take responsibility,” she said.
Criminal investigation
Prosecutors in Quilmes initially treated the case as negligently causing injuries (lesiones culposas). They reclassified it as negligent homicide (homicidio culposo) after Lucas died. Agencia Noticias Argentinas and Infobae reported that the case is with the city’s Unit for Criminal Investigation and Trial No. 9. Investigators have ordered Lucas’s full hospital records and a judicial autopsy, though no findings have been published.
Mr Gil Cels said on 29 October that the family will register as an injured party (particular damnificado) in the criminal case. That would let them take part in the inquiry and request further evidence. He said they will also ask prosecutors to consider dolo eventual, a concept covering a person who foresees a possible harmful outcome and accepts the risk. This is a proposed line of inquiry, not a finding, and no one has been charged. A separate civil claim for damages is also being considered.
Changes at the nursery
Local outlet Hecho en Quilmes reported that the nursery has moved pupil arrivals and departures to an entrance at Mitre 364, through the neighbouring secondary school. It said education inspectors and prosecution officials visited the nursery on Monday 26 October.
