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Last updated on Friday, March 2, 2012
(COLUMBUS) - The family of an Iowa teenager who drowned in a frozen Columbus neighborhood lake is suing multiple entities for the death. (The Republic)
Three teens were walking on Terrace Lake in December 2010 when they broke through the ice. Two of the teens survived, but 16-year-old Derek Lodestein, of Davenport, Iowa, died.
The death prompted Columbus to invest in training and gear to outfit a dive team of its own.
Lodestein's parents are suing the city, county and state; eight police, fire or water rescue agencies; the Columbus Regional Hospital Foundation and the Terrace Lake Lot Owners Association.
The lawsuit, in part, claims the agencies acted with negligence by not successfully rescuing Lodestein. At the time, there weren't any ice-trained divers in Bartholomew County. Although local police and fire crews responded within a few minutes, the lawsuit says the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Dive Team was notified at 7 p.m. and entered the lake at 8:50 p.m.
Parents Linda Gotkin and Brian Lodestein are suing for unspecified damages. Their lawsuit was filed Wednesday.
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