Parents of teen who died during school swim lesson allege coach was checking his cellphone

The parents of a boy who died during a school swim lesson are suing for negligence, claiming the coach may have been distracted by his cellphone.

According to the Mercury News, on Tuesday, the parents of 15-year-old Benjamin Curry sued the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in Danville, Calif., and its varsity football coach, Aaron Becker, for negligence and willful misconduct for the May 8 death of their son.

“We had the school video enhanced and the coach appears to be looking at a cellphone when the children were in the pool,” attorney Andrew Schwartz, who is representing parents Karen and Thomas Curry, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “We’re claiming that the school was negligent by failing to provide proper supervision or any rules and regulations toward swim lessons. My clients are looking for answers and accountability. What that looks like has yet to be determined.”

During the 57-person swim class in the school’s 12-foot-deep pool, Becker told the teens to tread water for 3 minutes, warning that if they touched the lane line, they’d have to tread for longer. Becker then had the kids tread water for an additional 30 seconds, and Ben slipped underwater, exhausted. At the time, Becker was reportedly standing 15 feet away, on a diving board, seemingly checking his phone.

The Mercury News obtained a copy of the lawsuit, which states that Becker didn’t have adequate water safety training or appropriate direction from the school, and possessed an outdated lifeguard certification.

“Defendant Becker, supervising these students without assistance, failed to notice that Benjamin Curry had slipped below the water surface well within his view, and recessed the class at the end of 4th period without checking to make sure that all of his students had safely left the pool,” reads the lawsuit, per the Mercury News. “He then left the pool area without taking roll at the end of class, with Benjamin under the water, and Benjamin’s clothing and cell phone alongside the pool. 56 students left the pool that day with Benjamin under water.”

Schwartz tells Yahoo Lifestyle that the teen, who was a good swimmer, was discovered by a fifth-period teacher about an hour after class ended.

In October, according to the Danville San Ramone, Benjamin’s older sister Katrina Curry addressed the school board: “The pain of losing Ben has been indescribable, but these past months, knowing his death had been preventable, have been excruciating. Ben drowned in class in PE class in front of Aaron Becker and he was left at the bottom of the pool for over an hour. … Becker has been allowed to remain responsible for children’s lives while he is still employed and actively teaching PE at SRVHS.”

A representative from the Danville Police Department did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.

District spokesperson Elizabeth Graswich sent a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle: “We are unable to comment on questions related to pending litigation. The District has been and will continue to be in contact with the Curry family attorney to address their legal claim. This event was and will remain a tragedy in our hearts and minds forever. The District sincerely apologizes to the Curry family and all community members. There are no words to describe the collective sorrow following the loss of Ben.”

“The District continues its internal review on policies and procedures related to SRVUSD pools,” wrote Graswich. “The District recognizes its responsibility to safeguard all students. Since the tragedy, the District has suspended the use of pools for all district physical education classes. The District also instituted a requirement that every time District pools are in use, dedicated and certified lifeguards will be present.”

Benjamin’s death was ruled accidental, but there was speculation in the community that he died by suicide, which school superintendent Rick Schmitt dismissed in a statement, per the Mercury News: “One rumor is that Benjamin caused or contributed to his death. More specifically, part of the rumor is that his death may have been a suicide. Neither the Contra Costa County Coroner’s report nor the Danville Police investigation indicated that Benjamin caused or contributed to his death.”

According to the East Bay Times, the lawsuit claims that the school did not proactively clarify these details: “For approximately six months after this incident, neither the school district nor the high school administrators made any effort to correct the false narrative permeating the community surrounding Benjamin’s death.”

Attorney William Gagen, who is reportedly advising Becker, did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment, but he told the Mercury News that Becker would not comment publicly on the incident. “This is not because he doesn’t care,” said Gagen. “He is traumatized by what happened to Ben Curry. I have advised him not to make statements. He and his family feel terrible about Ben’s death and I convey this to you on his behalf.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

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