Mourners gathered on Aug. 13 at St. Helena’s Roman Catholic Church in Castle Hill for the funeral of River Wilson, the baby who died Aug. 1 of an apparent drowning at her daycare.
How Wilson, who would have turned 2 in November, got into the above-ground pool at Ana’s Butterfly Garden Family Group daycare remains under investigation. However, River’s parents, Ifiok and Ima Wilson, and their attorney, James Williams, have alleged negligence on the part of Ana D. Gonzalez Feliz, who operated the licensed daycare out of her home at 2117 Story Ave.
The daycare’s license is now listed as suspended as of Aug. 6 and was hit with nine new violations relating to barriers around the pool, proper supervision of the children and failure to immediately notify parents and the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) following a serious incident or death at the daycare.
Prior to River’s death, the daycare was up to date on its licensure and had no recent violations upon inspection. However, records show one violation in 2023 relating to the supervision of the children that was later marked as corrected.
At the 10 a.m. funeral service, River was remembered by a crowd of friends and family, mostly dressed in white and pastel colors. Her grieving parents wore black and processed in behind the small casket.
Pastor Jorge Ramirez spoke fondly of River, who attended weekly mass with her parents and was known to wave and smile at other parishioners. Even when she unintentionally disrupted the service, Ramirez said he could never be upset.
He was also supposed to baptize her soon, but that occasion never came, he said.
“We all come to remember that beautiful spark she ignited in each of us,” said Ramirez. “As little as she was, she always made us smile.”
River’s first cousin, Naomi O’Boyle, 14, spoke at the funeral and described her as energetic, friendly and worldly.
“In her short time on earth, River accomplished more than what most people do in a lifetime,” said O’Boyle.
She said River loved karate, gymnastics, and dance, was learning five languages, and had already traveled to “almost a dozen” U.S. states and five European countries.
Her baby cousin “lived every moment of her short life to the fullest, with love, light and joy radiating from every pore and touching everyone who had the privilege to know her,” said O’Boyle.
Push for accountability
After the service, Williams, the family’s attorney, said it is far too difficult for families to really understand what’s happening at daycares and to look up violations.
He told the media that daycare staff “still have yet to come forward to explain what happened.”
The Wilsons didn’t even know there was a swimming pool on site until about a month ago, after River had already been attending for a year, said Williams.
When the parents found out, the owner “assured them that the pool met all of the state regulations and rules,” he said. However, Williams said they were “given false assurances and lied to.”
Williams said they now believe the pool was too close to the house, was not properly secured behind a gate or barrier, and did not have a sensor-activated alarm, as required by state child care regulations.
According to OCFS, the law states that unless the pool has an automatic power safety cover, it must have at least one alarm that audibly sounds “when it detects a child entering the water.”
Pools at child care sites must also have barriers at least 48 inches high, plus self-closing doors or gates.
Drowning is the leading cause of injury-related deaths among children of all ages, and about 33 children die from drowning each year in New York, according to OCFS.
Williams said daycare staff appeared to have acted with “gross negligence at best” and may be civilly and criminally liable.
“A 1-year-old child doesn’t go unsupervised and end up in a swimming pool unless someone who was responsible for her care completely fell down on the job,” he said.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
