Siliana Gaspard, the widow of former WWE star Shad Gaspard, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in connection with her husband’s drowning in the waters off Venice Beach, Calif. in May.
The suit was filed Dec. 21, in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the state of California, Los Angeles County, and the city of Los Angeles. It alleges there were insufficient signs warning of the dangers of swimming in the area at the time of Gaspard’s death, according the Los Angeles Daily News.
The former wrestler went missing on May 17, while swimming with his 10-year-old son. Lifeguards rescued the little boy, but were unable to pull Gaspard from the water before a wave swept him away.
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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 goes on to allege lifeguards did not have “proper equipment for their duties to assist people in the water.”
At the time of Gaspard’s drowning, the Los Angeles Fire Department issued a statement saying he was about 50 yards offshore when a lifeguard saw that a “wave had crashed over Mr. Shad Gaspard and he was swept out to sea.”
A spokesman with the fire department’s lifeguard section added that the lifeguard tried to rescue Gaspard and his son, “But the father, in his last few words, said, ‘Save my son.'”
Fellow professional wrestlers JTG, John Morrison, and Chris Masters were part of the search efforts, before someone walking along the beach found Gaspard’s body on May 20.
Siliana shared a post on Gaspard’s Instagram account after his death thanking everyone for their support.
She wrote: “Aryeh, myself and the Gaspard and Chittick families would like to take this time to thank everyone for their prayers and support, as we mourn the terrible loss of our beloved Shad.”
At the time, she thanked lifeguards and other first responders for their efforts.
“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,” she stated.
The final post on the late actor’s Instagram account showed mourners gathering on the beach on May 22 for a memorial service.
After stepping out of the wrestling ring, Gaspard made a career as an actor in films and television roles in Think Like a Man Too, Get Hard, The Game, and From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. He also was the co-creator of the graphic novel “Assassin & Son.”
The image above is courtesy of Shutterstock.
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