Lawsuit filed after tree dubbed 'Widow Maker' fatally crushes man at Texas BBQ restaurant

The family of a Texas father of four is suing after the man was allegedly "fatally crushed by the preventable falling" of a "diseased" pecan tree while he was eating at a BBQ restaurant.

Kirk Foyle, 64, died after a May 19 when a tree fell on him at Green Mesquite BBQ in Austin, according to the lawsuit, Fox 7 reported. The tree was hanging over an outdoor patio area where Foyle was eating as storms moved through the area.

The tree, which is referred to in the complaint as a "Widow Maker," was located at 1410 Barton Springs Rd, but parts of the tree extended into Green Mesquite’s outdoor patio area, where Foyle was seated, according to the outlet.

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The tree was allegedly never properly inspected by restaurant staff or management at a neighboring business, Aspen Hatter, despite being "located on, or in part on, property owned and controlled" by the businesses, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that staff at the two local businesses allowed the tree, which allegedly showed signs of disease, to rot and decay without warning customers or taking action to maintain it or remove it.

The lawsuit names Green Mesquite BBQ and nearby property owners as defendants.

"Defendants knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, of the dangerous, diseased, decayed, and/or structurally compromised condition of this tree and failed to inspect, maintain, remove, and/or warn of its dangerous condition," the complaint alleges.

"Prior to May 19, 2026, the Widow Maker was in a dangerous, compromised, decayed, diseased, and/or structurally defective condition," it reads. "Upon information and belief, the Widow Maker's dangerous condition was visible, apparent, or discoverable upon reasonable inspection, and had existed for a sufficient period of time that defendants knew or, in the exercise of ordinary care, should have known of its condition."

According to the Foyle family, he was sitting on the outdoor patio when the tree "suddenly and violently broke at or near its base and fell" as storms were moving through the area. Foyle's cause of death was determined to be blunt trauma sustained as a result of being struck by a falling tree branch, according to the Travis County Deputy Medical Examiner, the complaint says.

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Green Mesquite has alleged that the tree was struck by lightning the night it crushed Foyle, but his family and their attorneys contend that this never happened and that the lack of upkeep was the reason for his death, according to Law & Crime.

The filing also claims that the property owners of the area where the tree was located took out a $960,000 deed of trust used to refinance the property just a week after Foyle’s death.

The defendants are accused of gross negligence, and the Foyle family is seeking $1,000,000 in damages related to the man's death, mental anguish and legal costs.

Fox News Digital reached out to Green Mesquite and Aspen Hatter for comment.