News: New York City Family Gets $1.6M
(Long Island, N.Y.) A family from Harlem will receive $1.6 million from the city in a settlement that came after their twelve-year-old daughter drowned during a school trip. The incident occurred last summer, and the settlement was issued about a year after the tragedy. The young girl, who was accompanied by her sixth-grade classmates, was unable to fight an Atlantic Ocean riptide off the shores of Long Beach.
The incident occurred during the early beach season when lifeguards were not on duty. There were posted warnings on various areas of the beach claiming that swimming was prohibited. Nonetheless, a teacher and two other chaperones gave twenty-four sixth-graders consent to take a dip in the ocean despite the warnings to stay out of the water.
The students came from the Columbia Secondary School For Math, Science, and Engineering on West 123rd Street. The group of sixth-graders were being rewarded with the trip after having raised money to promote academics in a walkathon. The twelve-year-old drowning victim had previously attended the New York City Public School 161.
Two other students had to be rescued by beach patrol and emergency responders. Reports stated that the teacher nearly drowned after learning of the girl’s disappearance and had to be assisted by rescue workers. Witnesses claimed that she was screaming, and that the beach quickly turned into a scene of chaos.
The twelve-year-old was missing for over an hour, and in that time the beach filled with firefighters, police boats, and rescuers on jet skis. The search pursued by air and sea, and it was noontime when the girl had been located. A few people attempted a rescue, one of whom was able to grab her by the wrist, before she was ultimately brought to shore on a board and taken to Long Beach Medical Center.
The girl’s father claimed that he wouldn’t have given his consent if he knew no lifeguards had been on duty. Reports stated that none of the parents had signed consent forms, which were required for trips involving swimming. The grieving father claimed that the popular young girl, known for writing poetry in the school paper, loved the beach but never learned to swim.
Reports also stated that the trip was poorly planned and last minute, and that the students had been studying water at the end of the school year. One witness claimed that the girl was spotted alone near the jetty and that many wondered what she was doing by herself. An investigation was conducted to determine whether the school was criminally responsible for endangering the welfare of a child. Reports stated that the students were permitted to enter the water in a certain area up to their thighs and waists.
Since the incident, new safety policies for public school field trips have been issued. Field trips require superintendent approval and more chaperones, and trips that involve the water have to follow specific guidelines. The teacher chaperoning the trip was fired, the assistant principal was demoted, and the principal was removed for having romantic relations with a staff member. He was placed on a two-year probation for the incident and later investigated by the Department of Education.
The family claimed that they will use the $1.6 million settlement for scholarships. The girl’s wake was held in Washington Heights and she is survived by younger siblings. Each summer, fatalities occur in Long Beach without the presence of lifeguards. Many involve inexperienced swimmers from out-of-town who don’t realize the dangers of the waters near jetties, which are a series of rocks that divide the beaches.
