Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The family of a teenager who drowned while attending a summer academic camp at Transylvania University has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Thirteen-year-old Ricky Harris III, a seventh-grader at Bondurant Middle School in Frankfort, lost consciousness during a recreational swim on June 23 at the university in Lexington. He was pronounced dead at University of Kentucky Medical Center, and the coroner's office said later he had drowned.
WKYT-TV (http://bit.ly/Y6nab5) reports the lawsuit alleges negligence and unsafe conditions.
"You have a dozen kids in a swimming pool with two lifeguards," said John Decamillis, who is the Harris family's attorney. "The math tells you that nothing should happen."
He said someone needs to be held accountable for the boy's death.
"You're talking about a 13-year-old that was not only a great little student but a great little athlete," Decamillis said.
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, Transylvania University said, "As a community, our thoughts and prayers remain with the family and we continue to mourn their loss with them. Even as this tragedy has moved into the courtroom, we will continue to support them as best we can, but, as is our policy, we cannot comment further on pending legal matters."
___
Information from: WKYT-TV, http://www.wkyt.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
