The director of Camp Mystic recently broke down in court over the deaths last year at the Texas girls camp and the still missing 8-year-old camper.
Camp Mystic director Edward Eastland was overwhelmed by emotion. 24 campers and two staffers died last summer after the Guadalupe River flooded. Now, the camp is trying to reopen.
"I wish we had never had camp that summer," Eastland said. Parents of the victims are suing the camp over their deaths. The families' lawyer argued that the camp was aware of a coming storm. Lawyer Brad Beckworth discussed how simple measures could have saved lives.
The Camp Mystic director admitted he slept through a CodeRED text alert about flooding in the area. Eastland insisted that the camp wasn't prepared for how bad things would get.
Camp Mystic Director Breaks Down in Tears
"We did not expect what was going to happen," he testified.
Beckworth replied, "You were warned."
Eastland said he went into one of the Camp Mystic cabins to save as many as he could.
"There were girls going out of the front door. I grabbed two girls, and there was a third one I didn't grab," Eastland testified. One girl "jumped on my back — I don't know who it was — before we got washed out. The water was over my head very quickly. The water was churning. That part of the whole night has been a big blur for me."
He replied, "I don't know. I don't know if she was on my back."
Meanwhile, the missing girl's mom, Cici Steward, wants to keep the camp closed for good.
"Now is the time for the state of Texas to step in and deny the license for Camp Mystic because it is so clear they are incapable of keeping children safe," Steward said.
