Province, Rotary Club deny responsibility for 12-year-old's drowning death after parents sue

The B.C. government hasdenied any responsibility for thedrowning death of a 12-year-old girl in a swimming lake in the province's northeast, saying it didn't realize the suctioneddrainpipe thatdraggedthe girl underwater was easy for children to reach.

The province has filed a sweeping response to alawsuit filed by Beverly Park's parents,claiming it was notin charge of safety at Rotary Lake in Dawson Creek, B.C., when the girl was sucked into the drainin front of her mother and twin brotherin 2016.

"The province denies any involvement in the chain of events which are said to have imperilled [Beverly Park]," read documentsfiled in B.C. Supreme Court earlier this month.

A second defendant named in thelawsuit the local Rotary Club which helped develop the man-made lake has also denied liability, and says the girl was partly responsible for her own death.

Beverly Park's mother and father, Brandie and Todd Park, suedthe province, cluband city for negligence in Octoberalleging those who ran the lake on the city's outskirtskept the "hazardous" areaopen too long, despite knowing the drainpipe was a threat to swimmers.

Beverly wasplaying with her twin brother and some friends in the lake atMile 0 Park on Aug. 13, 2016when they slid the lid off the drainpipe at the bottom of the lake, according to a coroner's report. Removing the cap created a vacuum, and Beverly'slegs were sucked down into the drain. She was stuck with her headbelow the water.

The Park family's claim said Beverly "was not budging from the drainpipe," even after her mother jumped in and tried to pull her free. The girl was unresponsive by the time suction was shut down.

Beverly died in hospital on Aug. 16, 2016.

2nd child death

The Parks believe Rotary Lake needed stronger regulation longbefore their daughter died, especially considering anotherchild died in the same area22 yearsearlier.

The lake wasbuilt in the early 1960s to providea free gathering place for families in the city.

Artificial swimming facilities like pools and hot tubs usually need a licence to operate in B.C., but Rotary Lake a water-filled concrete bowl with a single drainage pipe was granted an exemption from provincial pool safety requirements in January 1989. At the time, the province said the lake didn't constitute a health hazard to the community.

The designation meant the lake could operate without lifeguards or regular inspections from the regional health authority much like a natural lake would.

In its response to the Parks' notice of civil claim, the province said the City of Dawson Creek took on all responsibility for the lake when the provincialexemption was granted, at the city's request, in 1989.

It addedthe province didn't know the drainpipe cover "was easily removable by children."

The government's response also said the death of a four-year-old child at Rotary Lakein 1994wouldn't have flagged the provincial government to any hazards at the lake because officials ruled that child's death was an accident.

Brandie Park said officials should have known better.

"For people to be able to neglect a pool in their community that they know is a problem, been a problem for years ...It's bizarre to me," Brandie said in an interview in October.

"Why was this leftby everybody?"

Rotary Club response

The Rotary Club of Dawson Creek is also named in the Parks' lawsuit because the club was involved in the development of the lake in the 1960s.

In its own legal response, the club "denies each and every allegation" made by the Parks. It said Beverly was, in part, responsible for her own death because she and the other children slid the bolts off the drainpipe lid themselves.

The Rotary Club response also said Beverly's parentsfailed to supervise her "properly or at all."

The province and the club both said responsibility for the lake lies with the City of Dawson Creek.

The city has not filed a response to the Parks' lawsuit in court. In an earlier statement to CBC News, a spokesperson said the municipality does not comment onongoing litigation.

A spokesperson for the provincial Ministry of Health said the same on behalf of the province.

Rotary Lake was shut down after Park's death and remains closed. Northern Health sent a letter to city council this fall saying the lake cannot reopen until any health hazards are addressed.