Family of Boy, 7, Killed by Cart File Claim Against the LAUSD

The family of a second-grader who was crushed and killed by a utility cart at his Sun Valley school have filed an $84-million wrongful-death claim against the Los Angeles Unified School District, the family’s lawyer said Thursday.

The claim says district employees “created the dangerous condition . . . by leaving the electric cart unattended in a schoolyard full of unsupervised or inadequately supervised children” during an after-school program at Roscoe Elementary, resulting in the death of 7-year-old Steve Silva on Sept. 15.

District officials have said teachers were supervising the playground when the accident occurred. Though an internal LAUSD investigation was launched in September, district spokeswoman Hilda Ramirez said Thursday that the district, which paid the cost of Silva’s funeral, could offer no further comment because of the claim.

If district officials deny the claim, the family could file a wrongful-death suit in court. Kevin Meenan, the attorney for the Silva family, called the claim “a wake-up call” for the district.

“If families are going to entrust their children to government school after-care programs like the one Steve was in when he was killed, then the government must do better,” Meenan said.

An investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division found no evidence of criminal negligence, said Det. Dwight Gillett, who headed the inquiry.

The cart was parked outside of the school’s main building by a maintenance worker, and began to roll when one of the children playing inside it pulled a hand brake, Gillett said. The 1,300-pound cart rolled down a slight incline on the playground, eventually pinning Silva against a wall and fatally injuring him.

Five days after the accident, the district distributed wooden “chock blocks” to all schools with utility carts. The blocks must now be placed under the wheels of the vehicles as an added precaution.

The accident also led to the fast-tracking of a plan for annual safety and cleanliness inspections at district campuses. Starting in July, principals will subject their schools to an 139-point checklist that addresses, among other things, the status of utility carts.

Meenan said the boy’s parents, Sun Valley residents Enrique and Juana Silva, were devastated by the loss of their child. “Children are not supposed to die before their parents,” he said.

The claim also names Roscoe Elementary’s principal and its school nurse, as well as the janitor. The district received the claim March 19 and has until early May to respond.