A 20-month-old toddler's death at a Bronx daycare facility has been ruled accidental by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, according to a decision issued more than two months after her passing. River Wilson, a young girl who was in the care of Ana's Butterfly Garden Family Group, met her demise on August 1 at the home-based day care center in Castle Hill.
The ruling comes amidst a lawsuit filed by River's parents, Ifiok and Ima Wilson, alleging negligence led to their daughter's death. The couple has joined forces with U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres in pursuing legal action against the daycare and its operators, Ana Feliz Gonzalez and John Guzman. In an earlier move, the family announced the lawsuit alongside the congressman, signaling a desire for justice.
A recent state inspection found no issues with pool access at the facility prior to River's death. However, just three days later, inspectors identified nine violations, including an inadequate pool fence, and suspended the daycare's license. The incident has also sparked calls for increased safety measures in residential day care centers, with Rep. Torres introducing federal legislation named River’s Law that would ban swimming pools at these facilities and require door and window alarms.
At present, no one has been criminally charged in connection with River's death. A spokesperson for the Bronx district attorney's office stated that evidence is still being evaluated in this case. The attorneys representing River's family and the daycare operators have declined to comment on the medical examiner's ruling.
The ruling comes amidst a lawsuit filed by River's parents, Ifiok and Ima Wilson, alleging negligence led to their daughter's death. The couple has joined forces with U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres in pursuing legal action against the daycare and its operators, Ana Feliz Gonzalez and John Guzman. In an earlier move, the family announced the lawsuit alongside the congressman, signaling a desire for justice.
A recent state inspection found no issues with pool access at the facility prior to River's death. However, just three days later, inspectors identified nine violations, including an inadequate pool fence, and suspended the daycare's license. The incident has also sparked calls for increased safety measures in residential day care centers, with Rep. Torres introducing federal legislation named River’s Law that would ban swimming pools at these facilities and require door and window alarms.
At present, no one has been criminally charged in connection with River's death. A spokesperson for the Bronx district attorney's office stated that evidence is still being evaluated in this case. The attorneys representing River's family and the daycare operators have declined to comment on the medical examiner's ruling.
20 months old and she just...just died. Accidental death, yeah right. Like it's always easy to say that when some rich people's kid dies in a daycare and they're all like "oh well, accidents happen". Newsflash: accidents don't usually happen at daycare centers where they have pools! 
What was the daycare even thinking? That pool wasn't safe for a toddler. And now they're just gonna sweep this under the rug with a medical examiner's ruling that's hardly conclusive? Please. We need to hold these people accountable, you know? Like Rep Torres is right on it with his federal legislation...let's see how much of it actually gets done 
! She was just 20 months old 
... so innocent & full of life 
. Accidental death at a daycare facility is just terrible news 
. I mean, you'd think they'd be more careful around kids 
. My heart goes out to her parents Ifiok and Ima 
- they must be going through the worst time ever 
.
... not sure what's going on with that pool fence 
, but it sounds like a major safety issue 
. Rep. Ritchie Torres is right to push for change 
... more safety measures for residential daycare centers are definitely needed 
.
- we need to make sure these facilities can't put kids in harm's way like this again 
. Fingers crossed no one gets charged criminally 
... but still, justice needs to be served for River and her family 
.
And Rep. Torres just throwin' around River's Law like it's some kinda magic solution? Pool ban, door alarms... what's the point, really? 
my heart goes out to her parents Ifiok & Ima, this must be a nightmare for them 
but 3 days later, inspectors found huge problems... what went wrong? 
I hope River's Law passes & makes a difference in keeping kids safe 
. I mean, nine violations, but no one gets charged? That doesn't seem right to me... and now they're introducing laws to ban swimming pools in these facilities 
. Don't get me wrong, safety first, but it's just frustrating that the people responsible aren't being held accountable yet 
. ugh, this whole thing is just sad. the parents are suing and everything... poor little River Wilson - RIP, sweetie 
. and now there's a law being proposed to ban swimming pools at daycares? that's like, cool i guess? 
anyway back to this daycare thing, i feel bad for river's family but like how can you really know if it was an accident or not? i mean even if there were no issues with the pool before, accidents still happen right? maybe they should just focus on making sure these daycares have better safety measures in place 