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.... nowhere does it mention what the parents were doing at the time. That was a HUGE hole the kids were digging, don't think it's fair to put all the blame on there not being lifeguards.
The GoFundMe for this family is now at over $100K (asking for $150K). I would not be surprised if the family also sues the beach/property owner/city.
I would be surprised if they do try to sue once they have consulted a lawyer. Those parents, whatever they were doing at the time, are just as liable as anyone else for neglecting their children and allowing them to dig such a big hole in sand.
You could sue gravity. It seemed to play a part. The parents were negligent. That is my take. You have to watch your kids especially if they are that young.
So there had to come a point where the kids could no longer be seen while playing? Not a good look for the parents. They'll never forgive themselves.
Just awful.
“Ocean rescue experts say Sloan’s death might have been prevented if the beach was staffed with lifeguards. In other nearby coastal towns, lifeguards are instructed to tell beachgoers about the risks of digging in the sand, and to stop people from digging any deeper than either knee- to waist-height, or about 2 feet. The hole the two were digging on Tuesday was between 5 and 6 feet deep, officials say.â€
If I were writing the article I’d have made a simple change (bolded):
“Ocean rescue experts say Sloan’s death might have been prevented if her parents were properly supervising their minor children. In other nearby coastal towns, lifeguards are instructed to tell beachgoers about the risks of digging in the sand, and to stop people from digging any deeper than either knee- to waist-height, or about 2 feet. The hole the two were digging on Tuesday was between 5 and 6 feet deep, officials say
What’s with the nanny state? Who’s going to pay for those lifeguards, and how many lifeguards would be needed?
It was the parents' choice to visit a beach not staffed with lifeguards. Signs warning "at your own risk" would've been posted. Curious if they were busy scrolling on their phones or even egging them on to videotape it for "likes" or to go viral (I agree two small children couldn't have dug a hole that deep without much help from adults; either it was already there or the parents contributed to the digging). Absolutely one of my pet peeves at the beach, as not only kids, but small creatures get trapped in them. You can also break a leg walking at night. If you MUST dig, fill it in!
The family was from Indiana. Perhaps the parents didn't fully grasp the danger of a very deep sand hole at the beach either. They may not have been watching every second, but when you believe your kids are happily occupied with some harmless play, it's easy to get distracted for a few minutes.
A few years ago at Newport Beach, near me, there was an incident. This beach is well patrolled by lifeguards but it is also extremely busy in the summer. A parent rushed up to one of the lifeguard stands saying she couldn't find her toddler. A nearby beachgoer overheard and recalled having seen a child like the one she was describing near a large hole in the sand. That person jumped into the hole, fished around under the sand and pulled out the completely buried child, fortunately while he was still alive. A few more minutes and it would have been another tragedy.
There are now rules about how deep holes can be dug at that beach. There are signs posted, and the last time I was there, some kids were starting to dig a deeper hole and the lifeguard came and told them to stop and fill it back in. He made sure they did it, too. But on a very busy day at Newport Beach, I can't blame the lifeguards for not seeing some kids digging among all the thousands of people, and they also have to focus the larger part of their attention on the water. I give lifeguards a huge amount of credit. I've seen many rescues and they can't rest for a second, have to be constantly on the watch.
As a native Southern Californian, I have hardly ever been so surprised and unnerved as when we took our kids (the youngest was about 10) to Maui and found no lifeguards anywhere.
Absolutely horrible, for the victim, her surviving brother, and all who had to witness, and especially those who tried to revive the girl.
Article mentions that ocean rescue experts say this could have been prevented if there were lifeguards present, but nowhere does it mention what the parents were doing at the time. That was a HUGE hole the kids were digging, don't think it's fair to put all the blame on there not being lifeguards.
The GoFundMe for this family is now at over $100K (asking for $150K). I would not be surprised if the family also sues the beach/property owner/city.
This just happened a year or two ago on a beach in NJ except the kids were teenagers. The brother died and his sister got out. They dug a ten-foot-deep hole in the sand, and it collapsed on them.
I don't think you can blame this on lifeguards not being there. This is on the parents. I would not want to be in their shoes right now with what they must feel.
They may be digging their own graves and not realize it.
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Do adults really need to be told that sand is unstable? I don't care if you didn't grow up near a beach. It seems as if that's something should have been picked up somewhere along the way.
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