City Of Boston Reaches Settlement In Drowning Death Of 7-Year-Old Boy
BOSTON (CBS) -- The city of Boston has reached a settlement with the family of a seven-year-old boy who drowned at a summer camp in 2016.
Kyzr Willis of Dorchester was found in the ocean off Carson Beach on July 26, 2016, hours after he was reported missing from the Curley Community Center camp.
His family filed a lawsuit in September saying that the city did not do enough to protect Kyzr. The city has agreed to settle the wrongful death suit for $5 million.
Following Kyzr's death, the city implemented new safety and oversight measures for Boston Centers for Youth & Families drop-in programs. Mayor Marty's Walsh's office said this would include a mandatory head count of the children by counselors every 60 minutes, and a mandatory ratio of at least two counselors for every 10 children.
In addition, all children going into the water will be required to wear life preservers–and no more than 10 children and the two counselors assigned to them will be allowed in the water at the same time. Kyzr did not know how to swim.
According to the Boston Globe, Kyzr's mother said they will be setting up a scholarship and a foundation in his name.
