The family of a 14-year-old boy who drowned in a Florida City lake has filed a lawsuit against the developer, property owner, and utility company, alleging that a lack of proper security measures led to the tragedy.<\/p>\n
Marcus Sanders, who had recently graduated from the eighth grade, died June 27 after visiting a lake near North Redland Road and Northwest 12th Street with friends. His mother, Jazmine Sanders, said her son knew how to swim, but the area was left accessible without warnings.<\/p>\n
“I wish it would’ve been a gate, signs, telling them don’t go there or you’re not supposed to be in here,” she said.<\/p>\n
The family described Marcus as a dedicated student who was focused on his future.<\/p>\n
“He was a great kid; I couldn’t complain about Marcus. He wanted to make both of his parents proud. It’s just sad that it got shortened,” Jazmine Sanders said.<\/p>\n
His grandmother, Beverly Dukes, said the loss has been devastating.<\/p>\n
“I just sit there and watch those pictures, and I cried, and you hear a little voice say, ‘I’m okay, grandmom, you know, it’s hard,'” Dukes said.<\/p>\n
Attorney Christian Schoepp, representing the family, said that about an hour after Sanders drowned, another child also drowned in the same lake. That child was in a coma for several days but has since returned home.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to secure the site, leaving it open to the community despite the inherent dangers.<\/p>\n
“It’s open, and anybody can just walk up to it, and it has zero gates around,” Schoepp said. “And what the lawsuit alleges is that not only was the pond itself open to anyone, but that someone of Marcus’ age, rightfully so, would’ve thought that it was accessible”.<\/p>\n
The family is preparing to lay Sanders to rest as the search for answers continues. Marcus leaves behind his parents, seven siblings, his grandmother, and other loved ones.<\/p>\n
CBS News Miami has reached out to the defendants listed in the lawsuit for comment and is awaiting a response.<\/p>\n