Cave B Estate Winery and the Famiglia Water District were sued over the death of 10-year-old Danika Ross, who died after being sucked into a pipe on the winery property. The lake is used for both recreation and irrigation.
While swimming, Danika drowned after being sucked into an ungrated pipe inside the lake. There weren’t any signs warned that an ungrated pipe was within the lake. The lawsuit says that after she was sucked into the tub, she was “thrust down into a 90-degree bend in the pipe,” and then “her body was transported nearly 70 feet up the hill via the mechanical pump mechanism.”
The attorney for Ross’s family said, “This was an easily preventable death if the company followed the law and installed required grating or sensors to shut down the system in the event of a blockage like this.”
The winery didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment. If it does, we’ll share that with you.