Bronx Day Care Facility Loses Appeal as Medical Examiner Reveals Drowning of Toddler Was Accidental, Not Negligent.
A heartbreaking accident involving a toddler at an unlicensed Bronx day care center took another devastating turn yesterday when New York's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that 20-month-old River Wilson died from drowning accidentally. This comes as a significant blow to her distraught parents, Ifiok and Ima Wilson, who have already filed a lawsuit against the day care facility along with their U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres.
According to sources, an unannounced inspection in May found that pool access at Ana's Butterfly Garden Family Group had no major issues, but just three days after River's death, inspectors issued nine citations, including a faulty pool fence. However, it appears the day care center had not been operating under full compliance due to its suspended license.
Despite mounting pressure and concerns over safety regulations at residential child care facilities, River's family has yet to receive any concrete measures that would prevent similar incidents in the future. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres' introduction of federal legislation named 'River's Law', which aims to ban swimming pools at residential day care centers and implement door and window alarms, remains a vital step forward in this tragic case.
While officials from the Bronx district attorney's office claim that evidence is still under evaluation for potential charges, it seems that justice may not be swift or decisive enough to provide comfort to River's grieving family.
A heartbreaking accident involving a toddler at an unlicensed Bronx day care center took another devastating turn yesterday when New York's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that 20-month-old River Wilson died from drowning accidentally. This comes as a significant blow to her distraught parents, Ifiok and Ima Wilson, who have already filed a lawsuit against the day care facility along with their U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres.
According to sources, an unannounced inspection in May found that pool access at Ana's Butterfly Garden Family Group had no major issues, but just three days after River's death, inspectors issued nine citations, including a faulty pool fence. However, it appears the day care center had not been operating under full compliance due to its suspended license.
Despite mounting pressure and concerns over safety regulations at residential child care facilities, River's family has yet to receive any concrete measures that would prevent similar incidents in the future. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres' introduction of federal legislation named 'River's Law', which aims to ban swimming pools at residential day care centers and implement door and window alarms, remains a vital step forward in this tragic case.
While officials from the Bronx district attorney's office claim that evidence is still under evaluation for potential charges, it seems that justice may not be swift or decisive enough to provide comfort to River's grieving family.
... I mean, you'd think that by now we should have a system in place that ensures our kids are safe and sound while their parents are out at work, but it seems like we're still playing catch-up. The fact that River's death was ruled accidental is still super sad, though - who loses a child? 
And to think that there were already issues with the pool fence just days before... it's like a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.
I just saw this news and my heart goes out to the Wilson family 
I mean, who lets kids swim in an unlicensed pool with no fences?! It's like they didn't even care about those tiny human lives 
I just hope the Wilsons see some real justice soon 
i feel bad for the staff too, they must be dealing with so much guilt and whatnot. ugh the thought of that pool fence being faulty is just...
️ like how did no one catch that? and now ritchie torres' bill is being floated around... hopefully it makes a difference soon 
it's like, how could they not know about this issue sooner? 
and now we're hearing that River died from accidental drowning... it's just heartbreaking 
I'm all for Ritchie Torres' 'River's Law' initiative, it's a great step forward in making sure these things don't happen again 
and now this poor kid has to die for it and her parents are still left with so much pain 
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres' bill needs to move faster, ASAP 
we need real change here 
. Suspended license and still got kids swimming around like nothing's wrong... just waiting for another tragedy 
. Need stricter rules, now! 
with the whole situation 
It's just so heartbreaking 
. i know it's not the same as bringing River back, but at least we can try to learn from what happened and create better systems for kids' safety 
.
. I hope they can make it happen soon so that no other kid has 2 go thru what River did 
. Its not just about dat one incident, its about makin sure these places r safe 4 all kids 
.