Tragedy in Taylors (Video)

"A bubble of life. Just constantly a bubble of life and love and joy."

That's how Martha Burgess, a neighbor of the Jackson family on 245 Styles Road, described the 2-year-old child who lost his life Thursday night after a tree fell on top of him. 

Elias Jackson, known affectionately as Eli by family and neighbors, was playing with his two brothers, ages four and eight, in the backyard of their home around 7 p.m. when tragedy struck, neighbors said.  

"The dad was on the front porch painting, and their cousin, who is 17, was sitting in the backyard with them, and the dad heard the crack - just a big pop and a big crack," said Martha Burgess, who lives across the street from the home of Jason and Christy Jackson, the Eli's parents. "And he came off the front porch to the side of the house, and the tree was down. And little Eli was pinned under the tree."

The incident report from the Greenville County Sheriff's Office said Eli was found with blood coming from his mouth and head. Coroner Jeff Fowler said the child died at 9:19 p.m. at Greenville Memorial Hospital from blunt force trauma to the head. The death has been ruled accidental. 

A strong storm had just swept through the area prior to the incident, but Martha and Carol Burgess, sisters-in-law who live next door to each other, said the tree that fell was just an old, dead tree that finally gave way.

The tragedy has jolted the tight-knit community. 

"We look out for one another and try to help another, but there was just nothing we could do in this instance," Martha said through tears. "But God can do. And he will, he will do - he'll take care of them."

Neighbors said that Jason and Christy Jackson were staying with family members on Friday. Their house is quiet, but the toys and the fallen tree are a reminder of what happened there.

To many in the community just off of Locust Hill Road, the Jacksons are family. 

"They fit right in," Carol said. "They were just like one of us." 

Neighbors said it took at least 15 minutes for medical personnel to arrive and take Eli to the hospital, with sheriff's deputies and fire personnel arriving prior to EMS. 

Lt. Mike Hildebrand of the Greenville County Sheriff's Office said the reason for the delay was because it was not clear during the initial call what the emergency was. Protocol dictates that in such situations, a deputy must first respond. 

"When we receive a 911 call, there are a couple of different ways we can handle it. If the caller tells us that they are having a medical emergency or need a fire department response, then we transfer the call appropriately. If we are unable to determine the need, we send a deputy out," Hildebrand said. "In the case yesterday, it came in as a 911 hang up call. Because of that we dispatched a deputy. Once it was determined what the caller’s need was, EMS was notified."