ERMA – The lid of an underground septic tank into which a 3-year-old Cumberland County girl fell to her death April 3 was improperly secured, per state Department of Environmental Protection findings, NJ.com reports.
Police said the child, Emma, was playing with other children near her family’s campsite at Sun Outdoors Cape May, in Erma, when she stepped onto the lid and it flipped over, causing her to fall 10 feet into the sewage-filled pit below.
She was transported to Cape Regional Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, according to a previous news release.
DEP inspectors visited the site within a few days of Emma’s death and discovered multiple violations, including numerous unsecured lids that weren’t bolted or screwed down and others that were cracked, according to the DEP notice of violation.
According to NJ.com, a similar incident happened a year ago at Driftwood, in Dennis Township, which is owned by Sun Communities Inc., the Michigan-based company that also owns Sun Outdoors Cape May.
A man at the campground fell into a sewage tank when the cover gave way. He survived with cuts and bruises, per the report.
Emma’s parents’ attorney, Allan J. Aigeldinger III, told NJ.com he plans to file suit during the week of June 28.
A public relations firm representing Sun Communities June 24 told NJ.com the steps they’ve taken since the Erma incident, including re-inspecting all septic tanks, installing additional safety fencing and applying redundant inserts to further block access.
The company also said it engaged an independent engineering firm to perform an additional assessment of their facilities in New Jersey, and a third-party expert is conducting follow-up inspections.
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