5-year-old boy killed after boulder falls while he played on Ventura beach

A 5-year-old boy died after a large boulder fell on him while he was playing on rocks at Rincon Beach in Ventura, California, authorities and family members said.

The child, identified as Maxwell Haworth, was climbing on the shoreline rocks with a friend when he slipped and triggered a boulder to fall, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said. He sustained critical injuries and was taken to a local hospital, where he later died, according to family member Daniel Kessler.

Maxwell’s parents were on the sand nearby, watching while he played with his friend, Kessler said. After the accident, Maxwell’s father picked him up and carried him to the parking lot to get help, Kessler told The Los Angeles Times. “They did everything they could,” he said.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office provided initial details about the mechanism of the injury, and local emergency responders transported the child to a hospital. The office did not immediately release further information about the timing of the incident or the specific hospital where Maxwell was treated.

Family friends and community members have begun raising funds to assist Maxwell’s parents with funeral and related costs. A GoFundMe campaign organized by family friend Bryan Holloway had raised more than $65,000 from nearly 650 donors as of Friday afternoon, approaching its $80,000 goal. Donations cited on the page ranged from $10 to $2,500.

Kessler described Maxwell as “a joyful, energetic 5-year-old” who had just started kindergarten a few weeks earlier. Holloway wrote on the fundraiser page that Maxwell’s parents were “not ones to ask for anything” but that they needed support; the campaign page includes several photos of Maxwell with his parents.

Officials have not announced whether the sheriff’s office will conduct a formal investigation into the circumstances that led to the rockfall or whether any safety warnings were in place at the beach. Rock formations along shorelines can be unstable, and accidents involving falling rocks have occurred in coastal areas, prompting safety advisories in some jurisdictions.

The family has received messages of support from across the country as friends, relatives and strangers contributed to the fundraiser. Kessler said the outpouring had been “tremendous” and that the family felt “overjoyed that their son has touched so many people.”

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and local authorities can provide further updates if and when they release them. For now, the community response has focused on assisting Maxwell’s parents with immediate needs as they make arrangements and mourn their son.