*The widow of former WWE star Shad Gaspard has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of California and the city of Los Angeles, in connection with her husband’s drowning off Venice Beach, Calif. in May.
Siliana Gaspard filed the suit on Dec. 21, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging there were insufficient signs warning of the dangers of swimming in the area, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
The former wrestler went missing on May 17, while swimming with his 10-year-old son. Both got caught in a rip current while about 50 yards offshore. A lifeguard saw a “wave had crashed over Mr. Shad Gaspard and he was swept out to sea,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.
READ MORE: Body of WWE Star Shad Gaspard Found on Beach Days After He Went Missing
“He was going to try to rescue both,” said Chief Ken Haskett, with the fire department’s Lifeguard Section. “But the father, in his last few words, said, ‘Save my son.’”
The lifeguard tried to pull Gaspard and his son to safety but according to Haskett, Gaspard pushed his son to the lifeguard before “he got pushed back down under a wave, and that’s the last he’s been seen,” Haskett said.
His body was discovered three days by a beach goer along the shoreline.
Shortly after his death, Siliana shared a post on Gaspard’s Instagram account thanking lifeguards and first responders for their efforts. She wrote at the time: “We’d like to once again thank the lifeguards, coast guard, divers, fire and police departments for their efforts. Shad was and will always be our real life super hero.”
In her lawsuit Siliana alleges rescuers assisted the couple’s son, identified as A.G., but “left Shad Gaspard in the water to die.”
She also claims lifeguards “saw Shad Gaspard and A.G. struggling in the water but did not do anything for an unreasonable and negligent amount of time.”
The suit notes that lifeguards did not have “proper equipment for their duties to assist people in the water.”
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