Crime & Safety
Drowned Teen's Family To Get $8M Settlement From District
Ben Curry, 15, drowned during a freshman year PE class at the San Ramon Valley High School pool in 2018.
DANVILLE, CA — The San Ramon Valley Unified School District has agreed to pay an $8 million settlement to the family of Ben Curry, a 15-year-old boy who drowned during PE class at San Ramon Valley High School, DanvilleSanRamon.com reported.
He was pulled from the water unresponsive May 8 after his regular swimming class. Life saving measures were performed by school and public safety officials to no avail.
"This was undoubtedly a tragic accident," Mark Davis, attorney for SRVUSD, told Patch. "The district has expressed its sincere condolences to the parents who have lost their son."
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The settlement was reached Jan. 30 with parents Karen and Thomas Curry.
The settlement documents had not been signed and lawsuit had not been dismissed as of late Tuesday morning, Davis said.
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The Contra Costa County Coroner's Office ruled the cause of his death to be asphyxia due to drowning and the manner of death was accidental. No criminal charges were filed, but Curry's family sued the PE teacher and school district in November 2018.
The lawsuit claimed his PE teacher, Aaron Becker, had a lifeguard certification that expired two months before the incident, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. It also alleged that surveillance video showed Becker was on his phone when the drowning happened, though the district attorney said he was not texting or talking on the phone at the time.
His body was found when the next swim class came in to use the pool, the Chronicle reported.
An attorney for Becker did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Davis confirmed he is still employed as a teacher and varsity football coach.
Davis said the district was glad the district and family reached an agreement to avoid the distress and expense of a trial.
"They're relieved the litigation is over, but the pain from their loss will never go away," said Andrew Schwartz, the Curry family's attorney. "Litigation is always tough; when it involves the loss of a child, it is that much worse."
Read more at DanvilleSanRamon.com and the San Francisco Chronicle.
— Bay City News Service contributed to this report
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