Danville settles in stairwell death lawsuit
DANVILLE -- The city of Danville has agreed to a $700,000 settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of a teenager killed in a collapsed parking garage stairwell.
Charles Gaston Jr. sued the city just days after 17-year-old Charles Christopher Gaston was found dead in the city parking garage on April 5, 2006. An autopsy found that the younger Gaston died of severe head injuries.
The lawsuit claimed the city should have known the stairwell needed repairs.
An engineering firm told the city in 2003 that the stairwell was beginning to fail.
Police say Gaston and two friends were throwing rocks from the top of the garage. The friends say the three ran from the spot but only Gaston took the stairs. They say they didn't see him fall.
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