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‘This Is About As Bad As It Gets.’ 4-Year-Old Boy Killed in Christmas Eve Treehouse Collapse

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Updated: | Originally published: ;

A freak Christmas Eve accident ended in tragedy for one Texas family.

Four-year-old Kade Contreras, of Cleveland, was playing in a relative’s backyard on Dec. 24 when a treehouse came crashing down on top of him, KHOU reports. He died of his injuries on Wednesday, his mother confirmed in an emotional Facebook post.

“Our sweet baby boy went home to be with Jesus today at 4:18 pm,” she wrote. “I’m trying really hard to not question the whys because i will never know that. All that I know for sure is that we were blessed beyond measure to be Kade Dylan’s parents. My days will never be the same without him and his little voice and big smile.”

Kade was treated at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, the Houston Chronicle reports. The boy suffered significant head trauma and had been on life support, according to the paper.

“He had just turned 4 and was looking forward to Christmas,” Cleveland ISD Police Chief Rex Evans told the Chronicle. “This is about as bad as it gets and the family is asking the community to please keep praying for him.”

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Write to Jamie Ducharme at jamie.ducharme@time.com