The parents of a two year-old Nebraska boy who was killed by an alligator last month at a Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida will not sue Disney.
The parents released a joint statement on Wednesday morning, obtained by KTLA, stating that they will, “solely be focused on the future health of our family and will not be pursuing a lawsuit against Disney.”
Matt and Melissa Graves attended “movie night” at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa with their family on June 14th when their two year old son, Lane Graves, went to the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon. At around 9:00 pm, an alligator wrapped its jaws around the boy as his parents and witnesses looked on in horror. The parents frantically ran into the lagoon in an attempt to free their son from the alligator, but the animal submerged into the water despite the father’s efforts to release his son from the alligator’s jaws.
The toddler’s body was found 16 hours later, only a few meters from where he was snatched by the alligator. The boy’s body was intact, with only a few puncture wounds indicating to investigators that the toddler died from drowning and traumatic injuries inflicted by the alligator. Soon after the boy was found, authorities confirmed that they found the alligator responsible for the attack, and euthanized it.
Matt Graves said in the statement, “Melissa and I are broken. We will forever struggle to comprehend why this happened to our sweet baby, Lane. As each day passes, the pain gets worse, but we truly appreciate the outpouring of sympathy and warm sentiments we have received from around the world.”
Before the attack, the lagoon had posted signs which said, following the attack, Disney installed ropes around the lagoon and posted new signs which stated, “Danger, alligators and snakes in area, stay away from the water, do not feed the wildlife.”
The Orlando Sentinel reported last week on emails which revealed that firefighters at the resort had been reprimanded for feeding alligators at a fire station on the Seven Seas Lagoon property only two months before the toddler’s death. If humans were feeding the alligators, experts say it would lower their fear of human interaction and encourage them to approach human beings.
The parent’s statement did not say if they received a cash settlement from Disney, nor did it specify as to why the family is declining legal action. The family has set up the Lane Thomas Foundation in his memory, and will disperse funds to charitable organizations in the Omaha area.
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