Parents sue after UC Berkeley frat party drowning death
The suit alleges that an overcrowded, soapy pool created a dangerous situation that led to the death of George Mauricio Salinas.
The parents of a 19-year-old UC Berkeley student who died last month after a drowning at a frat party have filed a lawsuit against the fraternity, court papers show.
The parents of George Mauricio Salinas, who live in San Diego, filed the wrongful death suit in Alameda County Superior Court on Tuesday.
Mauricio Salinas was found unresponsive outside the pool at Alpha Delta Phi on Nov. 14. He was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital several days later.
According to the lawsuit, more than 300 people attended the crowded party, "which exceeded the facility’s 200 person limit."
The city ultimately cited the fraternity. which also goes by the name "Aqua Delt," and issued a civil notice of violation relating to "public nuisances during loud and unruly gatherings," police said last month.
The lawsuit also alleges that there was "Overcrowding in the pool with people [and] pool items which impeded visibility" as well as "soap and/or other slippery substances in the pool that resulted in a slippery pool bottom that made remaining in the shallow end difficult, if not impossible."
Partygoers have said that a slide had been set up and that soap or another slippery substance created a dangerous situation that night.
The lawsuit also claims that the party had no lifeguard, no sober monitor and no fraternity safety coordinator, or that, "If a Fraternity Coordinator was present that person was not performing his/her job or was doing so in a negligent and/or reckless manner."
According to the filing, Mauricio Salinas' condition went undetected in part because of the "significant overcrowding" in the pool.
He was not a member of the fraternity, authorities have said.
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Emilie Raguso
Emilie Raguso
