Death of 9-year-old girl who drowned at Hersheypark ruled an accident
A Pennsylvania coroner has ruled a 9-year-old girl’s drowning death at Hersheypark earlier in July an accident.
"The cause of death was fresh water drowning and the manner of death was accidental," the Dauphin County coroner said in a statement, noting the child, identified by family as Sophia Subedi, did not have a medical event that led to her death.
The incident occurred on Thursday, July 24 at the Boardwalk, a park attraction featuring water slides, a lazy river and a 387,000-gallon wave pool.
Lifeguards responded to girl in distress
There were 100 lifeguards at the Boardwalk at the time, the park said in a news release, including 10 lifeguards tasked with watching over the wave pool.
Lifeguards, first responders and medics noticed the girl was in distress and began performing life-saving measures, the company’s CEO, John Lawn, said in a written statement.
A witness at the scene told WGAL one of the lifeguards attempted CPR on her while staff members tried to conceal the traumatic incident from parkgoers.
The girl was taken to Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, where she was pronounced deceased. It is the first confirmed guest fatality in the park's 118-year history.
Girl remembered as 'kind and loving'
A member of the Bhutanese Community in Harrisburg, the organization said she will be remembered as "a bright, kind and loving young girl," according to a Facebook post published Monday, July 28.
"Sophia brought joy and light to everyone who knew her," the group's statement said. "Her sudden loss has left our entire community in grief."
The child had been living in Harrisburg since 2022 and had recently completed the third grade. Her family moved to the area from Ohio, where she was born in 2016.
Her funeral service is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, July 30 at the Jesse H Geigle Funeral Home in Harrisburg, the group's statement said.
GoFundMe set up to help family
A GoFundMe page has been started to help the girl’s family with funeral expenses. As of the afternoon of July 29, it has raised over $21,000 out of a $30,000 goal. Additionally, her family has said they would like to put some of the funds toward creating a meaningful tribute.
Sophia had dreams of becoming a teacher and loved reading, music and painting, the page states.
"We hope to turn this loss into a legacy — perhaps by supporting children’s safety initiatives, advocating for awareness, or creating a small space in her name where kids and families can feel safe, loved and connected," the GoFundMe states.