Boy’s Death Prompts Cities to Check Safety of Concrete Benches

Nearly a dozen cities throughout Orange County have had inspectors examine concrete benches in their communities since an 800-pound concrete bench fatally injured Anthony Ferris of Laguna Niguel on Monday.

“We’re out there making sure there’s no chance of tipping,” said Keith Rattay, Mission Viejo maintenance services manager. “We don’t want to fall victim to anything like Laguna Niguel. If there’s any chance the concrete benches are unsafe or can be moved, we’ll get rid of them this week.”

Anthony was on a YMCA Martin Luther King Day outing with 73 other children at Chapparosa Park in Laguna Niguel. An investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department found no evidence of foul play, said spokesman Lt. Hector Rivera.

Questions about what caused the bench to tip and who--if anyone--is to blame for the death remain. Investigators for the insurance carriers for both the YMCA and city of Laguna Niguel are investigating.

“Whenever you have a tragic accident, ultimately someone will sue someone,” said Laguna Niguel City Manager Tim Casey, who said the city had a contractual obligation to inform its insurance carrier immediately that a death had occurred at a city park.

Laguna Niguel is part of a group of 80 California cities that have pooled their resources to self-insure against lawsuits.

The bench, made by Fontana-based Dura Art Stone, was installed in the late 1980s before the incorporation of the city, Casey said.

Tom Seifert, president of Dura Art Stone, said earlier in the week that installation plans for the bench call for it to be bolted or glued to the ground.

But Laguna Niguel officials say the benches were placed when the park was owned by Shea Homes of Southern California, and they can find no instructions for installation in plans for the park turned over by the private builder when the city took over the park in 1992.

Casey said the city found no record of problems with any concrete benches at the park in its maintenance files. Laguna Niguel park and recreation workers removed concrete benches from Chapparosa and two other city parks the day after the accident.

At the time of the accident Monday afternoon, several children were seated on the bench, according to witnesses who spoke to the Sheriff’s Department. Tony, a third-grader at Hidden Hills Elementary School, was one of four boys perched atop the backrest when the bench started to fall.

When one boy stood up, the bench was thrown out of balance, according to Sheriff’s Department witness statements that Laguna Niguel city officials have seen.

“There were adults close enough to what happened that they literally reached out to try to catch it as it fell,” Casey said.

Anthony’s family could not be reached for comment.

The death alarmed many Orange County parents, some of whom expressed their concern in phone calls to cities throughout the county. Marvin DeCarlo, director of Recreation and Parks for Cypress, said parental concerns about a similar accident taking place may make his city replace all concrete benches--even those bolted to the ground.

“We’ll probably remove them at this point because of the perception,” he said. “But they are safe.”

Other cities that inspected benches included Buena Park, Cypress, San Juan Capistrano, Yorba Linda, La Habra, Stanton and Villa Park.

Anthony’s funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at El Toro Memorial Park cemetery in Lake Forest. A fund has been set up to help his family with funeral expenses: Anthony Ferris Memorial Fund, Southern California Bank, 30000 Town Center Drive, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677.

Times staff writer Megan Garvey contributed to this report.