The family of two teenage brothers who drowned in a public school pool in Bayonne, N.J., has agreed to a $26 million settlement.
According to lawyers for the family, the investigation into the boys' deaths revealed a pattern of lies, coverups and reckless disregard for safety by school district staff.
At the time of the drowning on June 8, 2022, police said there were three lifeguards on duty the evening ZhengYu “Jack” Jiang, 16, and Chu Ming Zheng, 19, drowned in the school pool. It would later be revealed that there were only two lifeguards on duty.
Related: Family of Brothers Who Drowned Prepare to Sue City Over Unsafe Pool
The family reportedly rejected a previous $14 million settlement.
“Obviously, everything pales in comparison to the loss of these two children,” family attorney Darryl Zaslow told NJ.com. “But they realize the boys are not coming back, and the family has decided to settle.”
Zheng and Jiang were learning to swim at the pool when they drifted into the deep end and began to drown, which was revealed by witness testimony and surveillance video of the pool.
Lawyers showed that one of the lifeguards acted nonchalantly toward the boys' plight.
Zheng was a freshman at the University of Miami, while Jiang attended Bayonne High School.
“The lifeguards not only failed to act — they lied to the police about their actions and staffing levels that night, apparently unaware there was surveillance video,” the family’s attorneys said in a statement earlier this year. “The facts are shocking.”
