The family of Avonte Oquendo, the 14-year-old autistic boy whose remains were found in the East River earlier this year, has filed a $25 million lawsuit against New York City.
The wrongful death suit filed by the boy's mother, Vanessa Fontaine, claims the city's negligence enabled her son to walk out of his Long Island City school alone on October 4, the New York Daily News reported.
A city-wide search for the missing child went on for months after he was last seen walking out of the school. The massive search extended to subway tunnels and included repeated announcements over the subway's public-address system. Flyers with pictures of the missing child were posted around the city.
It wasn't until January that the boy's torso, limbs and head were found in the East River in Queens. The medical examiner was unable to determine a cause of death.
Officials suspect Oquendo fell into the water and drowned. Experts say autistic children have a fascination with water.
"Almost every autistic child is drawn to water," Jennifer Smith, president of the Autism Society of the Heartland, told KCTV in November 2013. "They will play with water for hours and hours and hours."
Oquendo's mother also names the Department of Education, the NYPD and other parties as responsible for her son's death.
The lawsuit, filed last week in Queens Supreme Court, does not specify the amount in damages sought by the family. But Fontaine's lawyer, David Perecman, told the Daily News she is asking for $25 million.
A city Law Department spokesman told the newspaper they "will review the lawsuit."
The situation is "a tragic incident," the spokesman said.
