Tree stole their happiness
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
The night before a giant tree sliced through her bedroom wall, crushing her and leaving her in a coma, 12-year-old Julia Engle gave her mom a card she had made for her birthday.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
The entire family had come over, said Julia's mother, Debbie Engle, and the evening was spent celebrating. After their relatives left, Julia stayed up late studying, and Engle recalls saying, "Good night, sweetheart," before going to bed.
Debbie Engle — with her younger daughter, Christina — displays get-well posters from schoolmates of daughter Julia, who is in a coma since being crushed by a tree that fell into her bedroom March 15.
Engle was jarred awake at 4:50 a.m. the next day by a loud crash.
It was pitch-black outside because power lines were down. Rushing outside to see what was wrong, she wondered, in a panic, why she hadn't heard her daughter scream.
"I ran up the stairs and into her room and I fumbled through the blankets to find her and — " she said, pausing briefly to collect herself, "I just held her. And I screamed through the wall: 'Please, someone call an ambulance.' "
Engle, her 10-year-old daughter, Christina, at her side, spoke yesterday at a news conference at the office of her family's attorney, Rick Fried.
Engle said her elder daughter remains in a coma but is breathing on her own.
Julia also is suffering from pneumonia, her mother said. The monitor that has been tracking the pressure on her brain has been removed because the swelling has gone down, however.
Engle does not know if her daughter will face long-term problems.
Julia Engle
"It is too early to say at this time. We can always be hopeful and optimistic," she said. "She definitely has youth on her side. Children are resilient."
Behind Engle hung a bright yellow poster adorned with drawings of little cheerleaders that read "We Love You Julia."
The poster, borrowed from the wall above Julia's hospital bed, was made by her fellow seventh-grade cheerleaders at Punahou, her mother said.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
She said Julia also dances hula, and has since she was 6 years old. Above the Punahou poster hung a collage of photographs put together by Julia's halau.
Attorney Rick Fried, with Debbie Engle and her daughter Christina, says the city and a tree-maintenance contractor may face a lawsuit.
Julia had been named to Punahou's May Day court, an honor that would require her to dance the hula. Because she is unable to attend, Christina will dance in her place, Fried said.
Julia's nightmare began on March 15 when the tree fell through the bedroom at the Engles' home in the 2300 block of Beckwith Street in Manoa.
The city acknowledged it owns the tree, one of about 225,000 that the city maintains. Tree experts for the city and the family are studying the dead tree to try to determine why it fell. More than a decade ago, it was "topped," city officials have said, and experts believe that might have led to disease.
Get-well cards and gifts to Julia Engle may be sent to the office of Rick Fried, 841 Bishop St.iSuite 600, Honolulu, HI 96813.
City officials have said that neither a private landscaper hired to prune the tree nor residents of Beckwith Street ever contacted the city with any concerns about trees on the street. Fried said a lawsuit may soon be filed, most likely against the city and the contractor hired to maintain the tree.
Where to send cards, gifts
Engle said her daughter's hospital room has been converted into a display of well wishes. Stuffed toys, cards, letters and posters are arranged around the room, waiting for Julia to see them, her mother said.
"She'll love it when she's able to wake up," she said.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
