Horsham Woman Suing North Wildwood Over Husband's Drowning

HORSHAM, PA -- A Horsham woman has filed a lawsuit to close a portion of a New Jersey beach where her husband died in July 2012.

Sandra Smith, whose husband Brad died after walking in ankle deep water at the Hereford Inlet in North Wildwood, filed a suit in 2014 in state Superior Court.

According to the Associated Press, lifeguards have long known of the danger at this particular beach. A beach patrol officer gave a sworn desposition saying that he agreed that the beach needed to be completely closed, not just closed to swimming.

The afternoon of the incident, Smith was walking along the shore with his 7-year-old daughter, his friend and his friend’s young child. The sand caved in, pulling them out to sea, according to reports at the time of the incident. His daughter was rescued but Smith’s body washed ashore four days later.

The suit, filed against North Wildwood, Cape May County and the state of New Jersey, claims there was negligence in allowing a dangerous condition to exist in areas were swimmers were present, the AP reported.

“The city of North Wildwood takes its beach protection responsibilities quite seriously,” North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello told the AP in 2014. “In fact, there has never been a drowning incident at a protected beach in the City of North Wildwood in its 100-plus years of existence.”

Smith was a family business owner. He was the owner of Brad’s Turnpike Automotive Shop in Horsham, which he operated with his son.

An annual golf outing is held annually in his honor.

Patch file photo.