By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The drowning of a 24-year-old- male swimmer in Community Park Pool last August allegedly was due to negligence by the town and the pool staff, the man’s father claimed in a civil lawsuit he filed in May.
Colin P. Simonelli had struggled to stay afloat in the main pool and became submerged at the bottom "for a prolonged period of time," his father, Anthony, who went to the pool with his son that Aug. 20 afternoon, said in the suit. Despite lifeguards being on duty, the son drowned in about 4 feet of water. Rescued from the pool, he died later that day at University Medical Center.
In the suit brought in Mercer County civil court, the father claims the town had failed to "provide adequate lifeguard service" and to "commence a timely rescue effort," among other things. He is seeking damages, and named the town and unnamed lifeguards and pool managers as defendants. Personal injury lawyer Neil S. Weiner, his attorney, could not be reached for comment.
As part of the suit, Simonelli is seeking records from the town, including video from the pool complex from Aug.20, records of the pool employees who were working that day, training materials, lifeguard certifications, among other things.
In the lawsuit, Anthony Simonelli said that after having seen his son "struggle to survive and then die while at Community Park Pool Complex," he "has suffered and will continue to suffer from severe, permanent mental pain and anguish and has and will incur mental, health and medical expenses to treat his severe and emotional distress … ."
"It’s a tragedy for the family, we feel badly for the family," municipal administrator Marc D. Dashield said Wednesday without commenting on the litigation.
Colin Simonelli was a Princeton resident, a 2010 alumnus of Princeton High School and a junior at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is survived by his parents, two brothers and other relatives.
In turning to Weiner, Simonelli hired a lawyer who says on his website that he had obtained a $10 million jury verdict for the estate of a boy who had drowned.
