The grieving parents of a one-year-old girl are planning to sue a Bronx daycare for the drowning death of their young daughter, as the infant died while a caretaker was busy cooking.
The victim was identified as River Wilson, who lost her life near the family's home in an above-ground pool at the home-based Ana's Butterfly Garden on Aug. 1. The incident happened when the caretaker, 47 years old, spent 20 minutes preparing food and not looking out for the child.
Parents To Sue Daycare Over 1-Year-Old Daughter's Death
In a statement at a news conference, the child's father, Ifiok Wilson, said, "Our beautiful baby girl was taken from us when she was only 20 months old." The father said that he and his wife have not yet gotten any answers from law enforcement or officials for more than two months since the tragic incident.
While he was talking at the news conference, Ifiok told the crowd to imagine burying their own baby and then not getting any answers about what actually happened to them. His wife, Ima Wilson, was too overcome with grief to speak and simply cried at the gathering, according to AOL News.
Now, the daycare and its owners, Ana Feliz Gonzalez and John Guzman, are set to be named in the forthcoming lawsuit. The operators of the facility have not yet been charged with any wrongdoing relating to the incident.
Read more: Leavenworth County Mother Arrested, Sentenced to Jail Over Death of Her 1-Year-Old Daughter in 2023
The father added that they wanted to make it known that they will continue to fight for justice for their daughter. He said they will not stop until they get answers and achieve accountability for River's untimely death.
Attorney James William said that while law enforcement said the most likely scenario was that the one-year-old girl fell into the pool, they never clearly explained how everything came about, the New York Post reported.
Lax Oversight
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres also spoke about the incident, saying that River was "catastrophically and fatally failed by a broken system." He cited the lax oversight from both the allegedly inattentive worker and the state Office of Family and Children's Services.
The incident began when police responded to a call about a child who was in need of help in the early afternoon of Aug. 1. When they arrived at the daycare on Story Avenue, they found the one-year-old unconscious.
It was reported at the time that a caretaker found the toddler in the pool outside of the daycare, saying that she had not seen the child because she was cooking. She apparently searched for River but did not immediately find her inside the building, as per People.
