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Family sues Maine school district over student's death on NH hiking trip

In this Monday, Oct. 13, 2014 photo, a tourist photographs Crawford Notch in Carroll, N.H., as foliage reaches peak in New Hampshire's White Mountains.
Jim Cole
/
AP
In this Monday, Oct. 13, 2014 photo, a tourist photographs Crawford Notch in Carroll, N.H., as foliage reaches peak in New Hampshire's White Mountains.

The parents of a Maine student who died on a school hiking trip to the White Mountains are suing the school district in Bridgton.

The lawsuit was filed by Amy Tait and Christopher Strecker, whose son, Michael Strecker, died of heat stroke during a Lake Region High School trip to South Baldface Mountain two years ago.

According to the suit, the district had indicated that the chaperones were experienced hikers trained in emergency medical aid, and that students were told that they could turn around at any point on the hike.

But the suit alleges that a humanities teacher who was chaperoning Strecker pushed him to keep going and ignored his pleas for help, despite the fact that he appeared pale, had blue-colored lips, and was vomiting.

The lawsuit also alleges that the district didn't properly train its employees and had inadequate safety and emergency response measures. The teacher and Superintendent Alan Smith are specifically named in the lawsuit.

Smith didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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