Shad Gaspard died a hero on May 17, 2020, after he and his ten-year-old son Aryeh were caught in a riptide while swimming at Venice Beach, California. Instead of accepting the help of lifeguards, he directed them to save his son first. Tragically, when they came back for him, he had disappeared underwater. The U.S. Coast Guard searched 70 square nautical miles over 17 hours but could not him, and he would end up washing ashore three days later.
The Los Angeles Daily News has now reported that his widow Siliana, a fitness trainer and nutritionist, filed court papers on Monday against the state of California, Los Angeles County, and the city of Los Angeles. The documents were filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of herself and her son Aryeh ahead of the official lawsuit. It was reported she is seeking burial costs and unspecified damages. Her claim is there were not the appropriate amount of signs warning of danger, there were not enough trained lifeguards, and they didn’t have the correct equipment. She also stated that lifeguards “left Shad Gaspard in the water to die.”
Gaspard was known to wrestling fans for his time in WWE, where he competed as half of the tag team Cryme Tyme alongside JTG. The duo had two runs on the main WWE roster, initially between 2006 and 2007, and again between 2008 and 2010. Following his release, he would work occasional independent shows but mainly focus on his acting and writing career over pro wrestling.
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