The tragic death of a teenager, the son of two renowned California artists, occurred when he was tragically crushed by an SUV in his school parking lot.
Fifteen-year-old Cosmo Silverman had just wrapped up his freshman year at Campbell Hall in Los Angeles and was looking forward to summer vacation when the heartbreaking incident occurred in June, according to a lawsuit filed this Tuesday.
The accident happened as Cosmo was navigating through the traffic in the pickup line, where he was trapped between a Rivian and a Volvo SUV.
In response to the incident, his parents, Adam Silverman and Louise Bonnet, have taken legal action, filing a wrongful death suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. They claim the school overlooked California regulations and failed to ensure their son’s safety.
Campbell Hall, a prestigious private institution with an annual tuition of $54,100, counts among its notable alumni the Olsen twins and actresses Elle and Dakota Fanning.
The lawsuit, as reported by the Daily Mail, poignantly states, “For the Silvermans, their son was the embodiment of their dreams and aspirations, and Campbell Hall’s negligence has irreparably shattered the life they held dear.”
The filing added that the school did not have a crosswalk to allow students to safely cross the pick up line which forced them to cross moving traffic to get to the other side.
The couple allege that Campbell Hall’s traffic pattern broke California law which states that, ‘vehicle traffic patterns must not interfere with foot traffic patterns.’
Cosmo Silverman had just completed his last day of freshman year and was joyfully leaving Campbell Hall’s school grounds to start his summer vacation when he was fatally pinned between a Rivian and another SUV in the parking lot pickup line
His parents, Adam Silverman and Louise Bonnet, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, claiming the school neglected to follow California law and protect their son
His parents alleged that the school only took precautions after their son’s death, adding in a crosswalk, stop sign, and fencing afterward (pictured: before the incident (top) and after the incident (bottom)
‘Cosmo was one of many students navigating his way through a line of intermittently accelerating and stopping vehicles when he was pinned and killed between a Rivian R1S and a Volvo SUV,’ the complaint read.
The school allegedly added a crosswalk, a stop sign, and fencing to prevent students from being struck by cars after Silverman’s death, per the complaint.
‘Only after Cosmo Silverman’s death did it take belated and elementary steps to remedy hazards that had long been apparent and contrary to best practices for maintaining safe school parking lots in California,’ the complaint read.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the school and the Silverman family for comment.
The family also alleged that the school had received several complaints about the safety of the parking lot prior to Silverman’s death, but the educational institution had failed to be up to code.
‘I am so sorry, and my heart is breaking for your family. We have raised issues many times about the safety of the drop-off and pick-up, and the school is on notice and would not change things,’ One unidentified parent texted Adam after the incident, the complaint showed.
‘Campbell Hall’s community raised their concerns many times, yet the school ignored them and made no safety improvements,’ the complaint alleged.
‘Only after Cosmo Silverman’s death did Campbell Hall finally attempt to confront the obvious dangers it had previously disregarded.’
The parents are now asking for a trial by jury after they claim their attempts to work with the school outside of the courts were unsuccessful.
A diagram of the parking lot shows the flow of traffic in the pickup lane and that there are no pedestrian walkways available to students
A text included in the complaint showed a parent telling Adam that they had complained on numerous occasions about the dangers of the parking lot
Silverman and other students had been crossing through the pickup line’s traffic when the Rivian pinned the boy to the SUV in front of it, killing him
The Silverman family is still reeling from the loss of the young student, described by his dad as the ‘most beautiful boy in the world’
Silverman grew up in a $2.5million home in Los Angeles
‘Unfortunately, the school’s insurance company refused to meaningfully negotiate or take responsibility, leaving the family with no choice but to file this lawsuit,’ the family’s lawyer, Robert Glassman, told the Daily Mail.
‘This case is about making the school accountable for the significant role its dangerously designed parking lot played in Cosmo’s death and ensuring that no other family has to endure the same preventable tragedy.’
The Silverman family is still reeling from the loss of the young student, whom his father called the ‘most beautiful boy in the world.’
Last month, the father described the last six months without the ‘radiant’ Silverman as ‘impossibly, crushingly sad’.
‘No parent should ever have to bury their child,’ the complaint read. ‘Yet the Silverman family faced that unimaginable reality earlier this year.
‘For Adam and Louise, the death of their son was not just the loss of a life, it was the loss of every heartbeat that filled their home with joy, every dream they had watched take shape, and every future moment they had counted on sharing.
‘The quiet now is unbearable: an empty chair at dinner, a phone that does not ring, a smile they still expect to see walking through the door.’
Silverman grew up in a $2.5million home in Los Angeles to artist parents. Adam works with textiles, while Louise’s art form is paintings.
