{"id":249904,"date":"2026-07-23T01:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T01:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/249904\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T01:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T01:39:11","slug":"retired-philladelphia-teacher-73-crushed-to-death-by-rotting-pole-on-high-school-field-lawsuit-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/249904\/","title":{"rendered":"Retired Philladelphia teacher, 73, crushed to death by rotting pole on high school field, lawsuit claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

A retired teacher was fatally crushed by a giant pole school administrators in Philadelphia let rot away when it toppled onto a high school track she was leisurely walking on, a new lawsuit claims.<\/p>\n

The 45-foot wooden utility pole \u2014 which had continued to deteriorate for over 10 years \u2014 snapped at its base and fell atop Paula Budin on the Roxborough High School\u2019s athletic complex during the morning hours of Dec. 5, 2024, court papers said.<\/p>\n

Paula Budin was killed after a massive pole crashed down on her in December 2024. Courtesy of the family of Paula Budin<\/p>\n

When a passerby found Budin, 73, she was bleeding and unresponsive \u2014 and paramedics were unable to revive her, according to the lawsuit filed by her family, which was obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer.<\/a><\/p>\n

The former teacher died of blunt force trauma injuries, the lawsuit filed Friday in Philadelphia court said.<\/p>\n

Her family claimed the Philadelphia School District and the Parsons Corporation \u2014 which was hired to assess the district\u2019s facilities \u2014 failed to maintain or inspect the rotting pole.<\/p>\n

The visible signs of decay were noticeable as far back as 2014, court papers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite this actual and\/or constructive knowledge and their appreciation of that risk of catastrophic harm, the district did not take corrective action nor did it warn students or members of the community of the risk of catastrophic harm,\u201d the family\u2019s attorneys said. <\/p>\n

Four poles \u2014 including the one that snapped \u2014 had been used to hold lighting and security cameras were positioned along the school\u2019s athletic complex, which was generally open to the public, the court filing detailed.<\/p>\n

A lawsuit against the Philadelphia School District and Parsons Corporation alleged the pole showed signs of decay as far back as 2014. Google Maps<\/p>\n

The school district eventually removed the three remaining poles after Budin\u2019s troubling death \u2014 but a subsequent investigation by the district\u2019s lawyers and experts found the poles had not been inspected before she was killed, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n

The pole that crushed the former educator was buried in grass near a debris-filled storm drain, causing standing water to soak into the pole and lead it to \u201cdeteriorate and rot to the point of severe and dangerous decay,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Budin enjoyed an active lifestyle as a retiree and previously worked as a teacher at the Germantown Academy and the Community Partnership School.<\/p>\n

Budin, 73, enjoyed an active lifestyle as a retiree. legacy.com<\/p>\n

She was close to her loved ones \u2014 two sisters, two nephews and a niece \u2014 before her tragic death, according to The Inquirer.<\/p>\n

Budin\u2019s family is now seeking financial damages from the school district and the Parsons Corporation for the alleged negligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the School District of Philadelphia cannot comment on pending litigation, we understand and recognize the tragedy of Ms. Budin\u2019s death,\u201d a school district spokesperson said in a statement to The Post. <\/p>\n

The Parsons Corporation did not immiediately reply to The Post\u2019s request for comment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A retired teacher was fatally crushed by a giant pole school administrators in Philadelphia let rot away when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249905,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[33588,73483,14671,69,71,70,233,302],"class_list":["post-249904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-deaths","tag-freak-accidents","tag-lawsuits","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-schools","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}