South Florida Personal Injury Blog

Broward injury lawyer Andrew Alitowski recently learned that the parents of a teenager murdered on the grounds of a Fort Lauderdale high school intend to sue the Broward County School Board for failing to protect their daughter, resulting in the girl's wrongful death. Amanda Collette was 15 years old at the time of her death. Teah Wimberly, the 15-year-old former sophomore at Dillard High School, is being held on criminal charges. Wimberly is accused of second-degree murder in Collette's death. Fort Lauderdale negligence attorneys Alitowski and Moore do not represent any party in these proceedings.

According to the Broward plaintiff's attorney representing Collette's parents, the Dillard High School officials failed to meet their obligations to protect Collette while she was in their care. She wrote to the school board that Wimberly had previously had disciplinary problems related to her sexual harassment of students at the high school, including Collette. Additionally, and more disturbingly, Collette's parents allege that the school officials were aware that Wimberly had brought a .22 caliber silver semi-automatic weapon to school with her on the day that Collette was shot and killed. By all accounts, the gun that caused Collette's death was the same weapon Wimberly had in her possession earlier that day.

In the criminal case for Collette's murder pending against Wimberly, police allege that a Broward County school resource officer found Collette unresponsive in a hallway after she was shot. Wimberly had allegedly sent Collette a text message to meet her at that location. Fort Lauderdale police say they subsequently received a call from Wimberly, who had left the school campus. She was arrested at a Captain Crabs Take-Away near the school after the phone call. Police say Wimberly confessed to shooting her friend and classmate in the torso and surrendered the gun. Collette died from her injuries.

Collette's parents plan to claim in their upcoming civil suit against the Broward County school district that Dillard High School failed to take appropriate protective precautions for students in light of the situation with Wimberly. Their Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer has stated that measures such as mandatory student screening and metal detectors should have been in place on the day of Collette's death. It is not clear why Collette's parents believe school officials were aware that Wimberly brought a gun to school on the day of the shooting, although students interviewed by the police indicated that Wimberly had shown the weapon to classmates while making threatening statements about Collette.

The Associated Press has reported on the criminal aspect of the case: