>Jury trial begins for 2008 drowning at Graydon Pool in Ridgewood
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011
BY KELLY EBBELS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
During opening days at the trial for the drowning of Soo Hyeon Park at Graydon Pool, a clearer picture emerged of events that day and their aftermath: friends panicking, lifeguards unaware of any struggle for life, and a grieving family left “longing” for their son.
The Park family has sued the Village of Ridgewood for negligence and emotional distress following the death of their 13-year-old son on July 15, 2008, and has refused to settle at $600,000, the village’s highest offer so far.
The Park family – Soo Hyeon and his sister Su In, mother Youn Wha Jung, and father Seong Wook Park – came to Ridgewood from Korea, to visit for a few days before moving to Rhode Island, where Seong Wook was scheduled to begin a research sabbatical. They stayed as guests of the Kim family, residents of Ridgewood.
