{"id":230,"date":"2026-05-23T04:09:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=230"},"modified":"2026-05-23T04:09:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:09:34","slug":"after-burlingame-boys-death-mother-recalls-son-killed-by-falling-table-decades-earlier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=230","title":{"rendered":"After Burlingame boy\u2019s death, mother recalls son killed by falling table decades earlier"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While few details have been released following an area boy\u2019s death last week after a table reportedly fell on him during an afterschool program, a South Bay mother said she reacted with \u201canguish\u201d to the news, remembering how her 3-year-old died in a similar way in 1989.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDon\u2019t they ever learn? Are our children not that important?\u201d Vivian Lindsay Herzog, 69, told this news organization Wednesday. \u201cI just bawled all morning. I just cried all morning. And I\u2019m still really sad. Seeing it happen to other children, first, brings up a lot of sadness and trauma for me. And then there\u2019s anger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herzog\u2019s son, Calvin Lindsay, died a day after a table fell on him Aug. 21, 1989, at a former San Jose daycare renting space on a Union School District campus, according to a Mercury News report at the time.<\/p>\n

The table struck Lindsay as he walked into the cafeteria and auditorium of the former building, according to an Aug. 23, 1989, Mercury News report. He was rushed to Valley Medical Center, where he was placed on life support, but later died in a coma.<\/p>\n

On May 13, a table fell on 6-year-old Gavin Tsui during an afterschool program in the multipurpose room at McKinley Elementary School in Burlingame, his family told the San Francisco Chronicle and according to multiple reports. Tsui, a resident of Burlingame, was a first-grade student at Meadows Elementary School in the neighboring Millbrae Elementary School District.<\/p>\n

Both deaths involved tables falling on young children, but key details of Tsui\u2019s death remain unknown, including how the table fell, who was supervising the afterschool program, and whether the equipment had been secured.<\/p>\n

The Burlingame School District has so far declined to release any additional information on Tsui\u2019s death and has not identified which afterschool program he attended at McKinley.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Marla Silversmith did not provide any updates about the incident when contacted by this news organization.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In a previous district email to families, Silversmith called Tsui\u2019s death a \u201ctragic accident,\u201d and said the district temporarily closed all multipurpose rooms districtwide. The district is also \u201creviewing and evaluating procedures related to the use and rental of district facilities by third-party organizations,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Eric Rosoff, executive director of nonprofit organization Campus Safety Group, told this news organization that while details of Tsui\u2019s death remain uncertain, school districts in California are required by state law to maintain comprehensive school safety plans designed to protect students from unsecured objects that could injure or kill them in the event of accidents or disasters.<\/p>\n

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Though such deaths are rare, Rosoff said he and his organization teach schools that heavy furniture, such as tables and bookcases, can still be hazardous to students and faculty if improperly secured, especially during an earthquake or some other event that could cause them to fall.<\/p>\n

He said that while Tsui\u2019s death could have been an accident with no \u201csinister intent,\u201d he added that \u201cmost school districts have policies and practices in place to eliminate, or at least mitigate, those risks.\u201d Rosoff said this could include regular inspections by designated staff, such as principals or custodians, of school facilities for hazards like unsecured tables.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In 1989, Herzog sued Union School District, an elementary and middle school district with campuses in San Jose and Los Gatos, and the daycare provider, Carolyn and Randall Mitchell, over the death of her son, according to Santa Clara County Superior Court records. The Mitchells operated a daycare service at the district\u2019s former Ross Elementary School at 1718 Landover Lane, records show.<\/p>\n

In her complaint, Herzog argued that a \u201cschool cafeteria fold-up table toppled over,\u201d striking her son, \u201cwho died as a result of head injuries,\u201d records show. She argued her son\u2019s death was \u201cproximately caused and contributed to by the negligence and carelessness\u201d of the district and daycare provider, according to records.<\/p>\n

The district denied responsibility for Lindsay\u2019s death, but a court arbitrator disagreed, according to the case.<\/p>\n

Arbitrator Louis Spitters wrote in court records that the district\u2019s campus was \u201cin a dangerous condition,\u201d and that the tables at the school \u201cposed a substantial risk of injury\u201d to people at the school after being moved around.<\/p>\n

The Union School District and daycare owners eventually agreed to pay Herzog $250,000, plus $14,033.63 in other damages, records show.<\/p>\n

Herzog said she believes Tsui\u2019s family should consider legal action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe district didn\u2019t want to take responsibility,\u201d Herzog said. \u201cNobody ever wants to take responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In 1989, a falling table killed three-year-old Calvin Lindsay at a San Jose day care facility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter Burlingame boy\u2019s death, mother recalls son killed by falling table decades earlier - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=230\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After Burlingame boy\u2019s death, mother recalls son killed by falling table decades earlier - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 1989, a falling table killed three-year-old Calvin Lindsay at a San Jose day care facility.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=230\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-23T04:09:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7b9c6200d1334fd775c7fcbefaf4010e.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"722\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=230#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=230\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"After Burlingame boy\u2019s death, mother recalls son killed by falling table decades earlier\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T04:09:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=230\"},\"wordCount\":790,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=230#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7b9c6200d1334fd775c7fcbefaf4010e.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=230#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=230\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=230\",\"name\":\"After Burlingame boy\u2019s death, mother recalls son killed by falling table decades earlier - 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