Lexington-the family of 11-year-old Keoni Hubbard sues the Boy Scouts of America after the child died during a boat accident in New Hampshire in 2023. The family’s lawyer says that an investigation into the incident was of no freak accident Was, but a “systemic malfunction”.
“Hell on Earth”
“I am trapped in my own version of Hell on Earth. A hell where the best part of my day is when I wake up, and half a moment I forget that my son is dead,” said Keoni’s father John Hubbard.
The boy was involved in a sailing accident in Manning Lake in New Hampshire. He was there with his Lexington Boy Scout Troop.
“Eight scouts, including Keoni, from 11 to 14 years old, were placed on a small sports boat by an organization that entrusted the care and safety of those children to a completely unqualified young boat operator,” claimed lawyer Tucker Merrigan. Merrigan claimed that the operator had received his driver’s license 10 days earlier and had about an hour of training on the boat checks.
Merrigan said that researchers concluded that the accident was a “systemic failure.”
Parents claim that safety protocols have not been followed
Merrigan said that the incident has violated different rules of the Boy Scouts, including that a supervisor must be 21 years or older. He said that Boy Scouts also need a second lookout if the children will be in or on the water. According to Merrigan, the organization also needs a head count before he got on a motorboat, but the operator could not tell the researchers how many children were on the boat.
“In Keoni’s memory we want to honor who he was – a great son, a loyal friend and a really friendly person,” said his mother Jenna Hubbard. “I am a very different person after losing my dear boy.”
They continue the Boy Scouts of America, partly to force the organization to create a standard of water safety programs
“I remember the last thing I said to Keoni before he left for the camp. I gave him a hug and I told him that I love him, and I said,” Have fun and be safe, “said Jenna Hubbard .
In response, the Boy Scouts of America says that they continue to mourn the loss of Keoni. They have had no opportunity to thoroughly revise the lawsuit, nor will they comment on the impending lawsuits.
Mike Sullivan
