Pomona : Drowned Girl’s Parents Sue

The parents of an 8-year-old Pomona girl who drowned last July at Raging Waters Amusement Park in San Dimas are seeking unspecified damages from six defendants in a lawsuit filed in Pomona Superior Court last week.

The suit claims that state and county regulations for swimming pools were violated at Raging Waters when Sharon, the daughter of Larry and Sylvia Williams of Pomona, drowned. The suit alleges that the regulations violated included requirements on water clarity, the number of lifeguards and depth markings.

Named as defendants are Raging Waters; the Bryant L. Morris Development Co., which developed the park; Wave Tech, a pool manufacturer; the city of San Dimas, Los Angeles County and the state of California.

Officials at Raging Waters and Bryant L. Morris Development Co. could not be reached for comment.

Richard Rinaldi, director of environmental protection for the county Department of Health Services, said that Wave Cove, where the girl drowned in Raging Waters, is classified as a swimming area, not a swimming pool, and is not subject to the pool codes cited in the suit.

A spokesman for the State Department of Health Services said the area was not considered a pool and that the state was not required to regulate Wave Cove under pool codes.

San Dimas City Manager Robert Poff said that he was shocked that the city was named in the suit and that San Dimas has no liability for the park because it is on county property.