THOUSAND OAKS : Girl Sues School Over Heated Slide

A 5-year-old girl has sued the Pinecrest School in Thousand Oaks, claiming that she was seriously injured when she glided down a playground slide overheated by intense sunlight.

Cassandra Evans and her mother, Andrea Evans, filed the lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court this week seeking unspecified damages. The suit says the incident, which occurred March 6, 1989, when Cassandra was 3, caused “permanent scarring and disfigurement.”

The suit says officials knew that the slide was positioned so it caught direct sunlight and became extremely hot on warm, sunny days. On numerous occasions, officials had forbidden use of the slide because it was too hot, the suit says. On the day Cassandra was hurt, however, playground supervision was inadequate, the suit alleges.

The high temperature for Thousand Oaks on March 6, 1989, was unavailable, but it was 69 in Oxnard and 71 in Ventura, according to WeatherData Inc., a forecasting service.

Don Dye, Pinecrest business administrator, said he had not seen the suit but was aware of the incident. He said no medical claims were filed, and the matter was turned over to the school’s insurance company. He said he assumed that it had been settled.