Police have provided new details about the Thanksgiving Day death of an 8-year-old boy injured at a luxury resort in Phoenix.
The child, identified as Luke Linnett from Waukee, Iowa, died on Nov. 28 after being struck by a piece of concrete from a “sprite” statue at the Arizona Biltmore Resort the day before.
Police stated that no foul play was suspected, and the death was ruled an accident. The investigation was closed on Dec. 4 after the medical examiner determined that the boy died from blunt force trauma, which matched the findings from the police investigation.
Previously: 8-year-old Waukee boy dies after part of statue falls on him at Arizona resort
A newly released police report obtained by The Arizona Republic, also part of the USA TODAY Network, provided details on how the statue fell and the events leading up to the fatal injury.
Sprite sculptures in the remodeled garden at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix on April 9, 2021.
How did the statue fall?
According to Phoenix police, at about 8:45 a.m. on Nov. 27, Luke Linnett and his sister were playing in a grassy area near the statues while their mother, grandmother and uncle waited outside the front entrance for a food delivery. Surveillance footage reviewed by police showed Luke climbing on a statue that was not secured at its base. The statue tipped toward him, fell off its pedestal, and toppled onto him, causing fatal head injuries.
Police noted that his sister was nearby when the statue fell.
In a police interview, Luke Linnett’s grandmother, Meredith Lemaster, recalled that only seconds elapsed between the children running around the corner from the front entrance and hearing a scream for help.
Luke was rushed to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. He passed away the following day, on Thanksgiving.
The statue was one of a collection of 19 on the resort property designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Examination of two statues, the one that fell and another located nearby, showed that neither statue was attached to their bases.
Who is the family of the boy?
The Linnett family had checked into the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix the day before the accident occurred.
Luke Linnett leaves behind his mother, Lauren; his siblings, Grace and Jack; his dog, Pippa; and his grandparents, aunts and uncles. His father, Jonathan, died in February 2022.
He was a student at Walnut Hills Elementary in Urbandale, part of the Waukee Community School District.
“This should never have happened and is scary but also a reminder to us all to hold and cherish our loved ones and particularly young ones and give thanks to God every day for what we have and what is important in life,” the family’s attorney, Dennis I. Wilenchik, said in a statement in December.
Luke Linnett was remembered for his competitive spirit and kindhearted nature, according to his obituary. He played football, basketball and baseball and was described as a “team-first” player.
What is a Biltmore sprite?
The sprites were inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Midway Gardens project from 1913 to 1914, though the statues at the Biltmore were replicas, according to Henry Hendrix, chief marketing officer of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving and educating about Wright’s work.
Hendrix explained that the Biltmore sprites were created in the mid-1980s and gifted to the hotel in 1988.
“The news about the passing of the child at the Biltmore is truly heartbreaking. We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident, and our heartfelt condolences are with the family during this unimaginably difficult time,” Hendrix said.
Arizona Republic reporter Karen Bartunek contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New details released on Waukee boy’s fatal injury at Arizona Biltmore
