100-Foot Tree Falls, Killing Woman, Infant

A man illegally chopping down a 100-foot tree for firewood watched in horror as it fell on his fiancee and their infant son, crushing them both to death, authorities said Saturday.

Cari Anne Clark, 30, was removing 5-month-old Aaron Allan Clark from a safety seat in the couple’s car when a gust of wind tipped over the tree, said the baby’s grandfather, Keith Rademaker Sr.

They were pronounced dead at Bear Valley Community Hospital shortly after the 10:30 a.m. accident Friday, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Follett said.

The infant died of a skull fracture and the mother suffered broken ribs and a broken leg and ankle, said Dr. Terry Brown, the hospital’s emergency room director.

The medical examiner will determine Monday whether autopsies will be conducted, Deputy Coroner Gabriel Morales said.

The baby’s father, Keith Rademaker Jr., and Keith Rademaker Sr. had been chopping at the Douglas fir for nearly an hour when the gust of wind blew it over, the elder Rademaker said.

The tree was up a slope from the car.

“All I could do was yell, ‘No!’ I couldn’t believe it,” the baby’s father told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. “It happened so fast they hardly knew what hit them.”

The Sheriff’s Department was investigating but Follett said it appeared to be a “tragic accident.”

San Bernardino National Forest officials said it is common for residents of this mountain community to cut down trees for firewood. Thousands of permits are issued annually for $25 each, while a cord of wood can sell for as much as $200.

However, Follett said the Rademakers did not have a permit and were cutting down a green tree. Residents are supposed to cut down only dead trees.

“As far as the Forest Service goes, they were illegally cutting wood,” he said.

Keith Rademaker Jr. said the family was “trying to get wood together for the winter.”

The Rademakers had been collecting the wood near a road about 15 miles northwest of Big Bear Lake near Butler Peak.

The couple met in Santa Barbara and lived in San Diego until last year, when they moved to Big Bear Lake to take care of the elder Rademaker, who had become disabled.

They planned to marry this fall, but financial problems delayed the wedding.

“She was a very giving, thoughtful person,” Rademaker said of his fiancee. “Always giving more of herself than doing for herself.”