Aliyah Lynette Jaico.Photo:Jose Daniela Jaico Ahumada
Jose Daniela Jaico Ahumada
The mother of the 8-year-old girl who died in a Houston hotel pool has filed a wrongful death lawsuit less than a week after her daughter’s death.
“We’re seeking justice for Aliyah because this could’ve been avoidable. Everybody knows this could’ve been avoidable,” claimed Richard Nava, an attorney representing Aliyah’s mother, perFOX affiliate KRIV.
According to the court documents, the family “rented a room” at the hotel’s Houston Brookhollow location on March 23 “to enjoy a day of swimming.”
Aliyah, identified in the papers as A.L.J., “was swimming with her family” around 4:50 p.m. local time that day when, according to the complaint, she was allegedly “violently sucked into a 12 to 16 inch unsecured open gap in the swimming pool flow system of the hotel’s lazy river.”
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Aliyah was reported missing at about 5:45 p.m., and a search was subsequently launched.
A team later found Aliyah’s body was later found “wedged in the pipes” using video cameras attached to 20-foot poles, per the complaint, which claims “malfunctioning pool equipment” is to blame.
Justin Martinez, a lawyer with Nava Law Group, which currently represents Aliyah’s parents, tells PEOPLE his team is planning to file an amended petition to secure the site with a temporary restraining order “to ensure nothing on the site is compromised.”
“We offer our sincere and deepest condolences to her family and loved ones at this difficult time. Our commitment to providing a safe and secure environment for our guests is paramount and we will continue to cooperate fully with all authorities investigating this incident,” their statement read. “Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, we cannot provide further comment.”
source: people.com
