Parents of boy killed by gator at Disney World say they won't sue the park
The parents of a toddler killed last month by an alligator at Walt Disney World in Florida have said they don't plan to the sue the theme park for their son's death.
Matt and Melissa Graves of Omaha, Nebraska said in a statement Wednesday that they wanted to focus on their family's future heath. A spokeswoman for the family, Sara Brady, declined to say whether a financial settlement had been arranged between Disney World and the Graveses.
"The family is really focused on just moving forward and healing," she said.
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Two-year-old Lane Graves was dragged into the water near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa by an alligator in June. He was attacked as he waded in shallow water at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon.
His father unsuccessfully tried to wrestle the animal and rescue the child, but said he was attacked by a second animal. Lane's body was discovered the following day. An autopsy showed he died from drowning and traumatic injuries.
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The statement the family released Wednesday said:
Melissa and I are broken. We will forever struggle to comprehend why this happened to our sweet baby, Lane. As each day passes, the pain gets worse, but we truly appreciate the outpouring of sympathy and warm sentiments we have received from around the world. We know that we can never have Lane back, and therefore, we intend to keep his spirit alive through the Lane Thomas Foundation. It is our hope that through the foundation we will be able to share with others the unimaginable love Lane etched in our hearts. In addition to the foundation, we will solely be focused on the future health of our family and will not be pursuing a lawsuit against Disney. For now, we continue to ask for privacy as we focus on our family.
Disney World President George Kalogridis, said in a statement that the company continues to provide support for the family.
Disney made changes aimed at limiting visitor exposure to alligators after the incident, installing more prominent signage as well as netting around waterfront areas.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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Tim Chester was Senior Editor, Real Time News in Los Angeles. Before that he was Deputy Editor of Mashable UK in London. Prior to joining Mashable, Tim was a Senior Web Editor at Penguin Random House, helping to relaunch the Rough Guides website and other travel brands. He was also a writer for Buzzfeed, GQ and The Sunday Times, covering everything from culture to tech and current affairs. Before that, he was Deputy Editor at NME.COM, overseeing content and development on the London-based music and entertainment site. Tim loves music and travel and has combined these two passions at festivals from Iceland to Malawi and beyond.
