WATSONVILLE — The family of a 17-year-old Aptos High School student killed in a campus stabbing last year has filed a second legal claim against his school district.
An unlimited legal claim on behalf of Alexa Sarabia Aguilar, of Watsonville, was served Wednesday on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. According to a copy of the claim provided to the Sentinel, Sarabia Aguilar — the victim’s older sister — is seeking an unspecified financial recompense for severe emotional distress, including anguish, anxiety, fright, grief, horror, humiliation, nervousness, shame, shock and suffering.
The teen victim’s parents filed a similar claim against the school district Dec. 28. Both claims lay fault on the school district for allegedly contributing to the death of the student, referred to by the family as “Gerardo.” The teen’s identity has not been officially disclosed.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office arrested two unnamed teens on the day of Gerardo’s death, charging them with gang-related crimes tied to G.S.’s death. Due to the defendants’ ages, those court proceedings have been closed to the public.
According to the claim, Sarabia Aguilar had arrived at Aptos High School on the afternoon of Aug. 31 to provide a ride home to her younger brother. Minutes later and shortly after a text exchange with his sister, “G.S.,” as he is named in the claim, staggered out from behind a pool building, pale and apparently in a cold sweat.
“She got out of the car and ran to her brother, who collapsed in front of her,” the claim states. “She immediately dialed 911 and began looking around for help. Alexa observed no PVUSD staff presence in the area nor in the parking lot.”
While on the phone to emergency responders, Sarabia Aguilar discovered a stab wound to her brother’s abdomen and a gash on his head — injuries that would later become fatal.
Citing an uptick in campus violence and an earlier unreported act of violence by one of Gerardo’s accused attackers, this week’s claim accuses Aptos High School personnel of failing to properly supervise students on campus and the school district at large of failing to provide staff with proper training, policies or other guidance on the supervision of students.
“The harm to G.S. was foreseeable given the District’s failures in regard to surveillance, supervision, warning signs and other protective measures,” the claim states. “These failures were substantial factors in causing the death of G.S.”
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees was scheduled Wednesday night to hold its first meeting since parents Juan Sarabia and Verenice Aguilar of Watsonville filed their wrongful death claim last month. Their claim is among the closed-session items the board will consider approving or denying. Sarabia Aguilar’s claim generally will not be discussed by the board before its next meeting, set for February, according to a district official. If the board denies either the parents’ or sister’s claim, their mutual attorney will be freed to formally file lawsuits on their behalf.
“PVUSD was served with a second claim related to the tragic incident that occurred at Aptos High School several months ago,” according to a statement issued by the school district Wednesday. “The claim will be reviewed by the School Board at an upcoming meeting and action on the claim will likely be taken at that time. Given that this matter now involves pending litigation, the District cannot comment further on this case but we at PVUSD share in their grief and sadness of this loss.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com