Families File Lawsuit in Connecticut Pond Deaths

Two families are suing the city of Bridgeport and the Connecticut Zoological Society over the deaths of two children who drowned when a minivan plunged into a pond in 2007.

Relatives of 6-year-old Jayden Wilson and 2-year-old Julia Boyd allege the city and the Zoological Society were negligent for not placing barriers at Beardsley Park to prevent vehicles from rolling into Bunnell’s Pond.

City officials declined to comment on the lawsuit filed Monday in Superior Court.

A third child and the van’s driver, Michelle McIntosh of Bridgeport, also died. The minivan was parked when it began rolling down a hill toward the pond. Police say McIntosh ran after it and got in before it went into the pond.

The city later installed a rail barrier along the road above the pond.