Parents Of Danville Teen Who Drowned In 2018 Speak Out: Report

DANVILLE, CA — Four years after 15-year-old Benjamin Curry drowned in a crowded pool during a class at a Danville High School, his parents are speaking out about the incident.

In the years following Benjamin's death, rumors of his depression swirled around the community and spiraled into the narrative that he had committed suicide the day he died in 2018.

His parents, Karen and Tom Curry, had filed and settled a lawsuit against the school district for $8 million, but now they say they have more of an understanding of what happened that day.

"We want the truth to come out," Karen told NBC Bay Area. "This is what really happened to the boy that drowned in the high school swimming pool on May 8, 2018."

Benjamin's death was ruled accidental, Danville police said in 2018. Detectives found no signs of foul play or criminal negligence, Lt. Doug Muse had said in a statement.

But Benjamin's parents told NBC Bay Area that his teacher failed to walk around the entire pool during the swimming exercise. They're now pushing for better safety measures at school swimming pools, the station reported.

The 15-year-old boy was pulled from the water around 1:40 p.m. that day and was rushed to Kaiser Walnut Creek where he was pronounced dead, according to the Contra Costa County Coroner's Office.

Ben, who had just participated in his regular swimming class, was seen on video going under the water as students left the pool for the locker room at about 12:30 p.m. but he never resurfaced, according to a report in the Mercury News.

“How do you show up with 57 [kids] and walk out with 56 and go on with your day?” Tom Curry told NBC Bay Area.

Read more from NBC Bay Area: Parents of Danville Drowning Victim Speak Out Years After School Tragedy

Patch Editor Autumn Johnson contributed to this report.