Celebrity News November 18, 2020
Naya Rivera’s Ex, Ryan Dorsey, Claims Her Drowning Was Preventable in Wrongful Death Suit
A wrongful death suit has been filed in the drowning death of Naya Rivera, Us Weekly reports.
The “Glee” star, 33, died in July while boating with her son Josey on Lake Piru in Ventura County, California. Josey was found alone on the rented pontoon boat, and Naya's body was discovered a few days later.
The suit was filed by Naya’s ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and her estate on behalf of Josey, 5. They are suing Ventura County, United Water Conservation District, and the county’s Parks and Recreation Management for wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The docs, obtained by Us Weekly, claim Naya’s rented boat did not meet U.S. Coast Guard safety standards.
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View Story“[The boat] was not equipped with a safely accessible ladder, adequate rope, an anchor, a radio or any security mechanisms to prevent swimmers from being separated from their boats. Disturbingly, later inspection revealed that the boat was not even equipped with any flotation or lifesaving devices, in direct violation of California law, which requires that all pontoons longer than 16 feet be equipped with flotation devices.”
The papers also claim that there is no signage alerting people to the dangers of the lake, insisting not “a single sign anywhere — not at the entrance, at the dock, at the popular swimming area of Diablo Cove, not anywhere — warning of the lake’s strong currents, low visibility, high winds, changing water depths, underwater caves, ledges and drop offs, or the trees, brush and other debris that congest its waters due to the vastly changing water levels and winds.”
The suit states that “more than two dozen people have drowned” in Lake Piru since 1959.