A school board will pay $10 million in compensation in connection with the death of 16-year-old Imani Bell. The Atlanta-area basketball player died of heat-related injuries in 2019 and was charged with murder against two coaches, the family's lawyers said.
The payout from the Clayton County Board of Education, which oversees the Elite Scholars Academy outside Atlanta's southern suburb of Jonesboro, is intended to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the girl's family last year, attorneys said in a statement Tuesday.
“The coaches now know that they – and the school – will be held accountable if they do not protect their children from heat exhaustion,” attorney L. Chris Stewart said during a press conference.
Co-counsel Justin Miller added: “This should not have happened and must never happen again.”
Some of the money will go to the Keep Imani Foundation, which was founded last year by the Bell family and whose goal is to provide scholarships, goggles for underprivileged youth and cold-water pools for student-athletes, Miller said.
“We will focus especially on the next generation to teach them important principles or actions that show that you have the power to achieve anything you set your mind to!” the foundation's website states. “We plan to 'sustain' Imani through numerous acts of kindness, programs to support young people and passing on the positive things she left us on a daily basis!”
The lawsuit alleged that coaches and administrators at Elite Scholars Academy failed to follow safety policies, including the school system's heat index policy. The settlement does not include an admission of wrongdoing, the attorneys said.
The school board did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
GBI: Imani had no previous illnesses
Imani was participating in mandatory outdoor conditioning exercises on August 13, 2019, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation report. The heat index exceeded 100 degrees that day and temperatures ranged from 92 to 97 degrees. She collapsed after running up stairs at a football stadium, the report said.
The cause of death was “hyperthermia and rhabdomyolysis during physical exertion in high ambient temperatures,” according to the GBI autopsy report. No previous illnesses were found, the report states.
Hyperthermia is a condition in which the body is dangerously overheated, and rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome in which muscle fibers die and proteins and enzymes are released into the blood.
In the summer of 2021, a Clayton County grand jury indicted Imani's trainer, Larosa Maria Walker-Asekere, and the trainer's assistant, Dwight Broom Palmer, on first-degree murder charges, saying the two “caused the death of Imani Bell, regardless of malice.”
They were also charged with second-degree child abuse, manslaughter and reckless conduct, according to court records.
Both have pleaded not guilty, according to attorneys for the Bell family. The two were released from custody last year on $75,000 bail, CNN affiliate WXIA reported. Online court records do not indicate whether a trial date has been set, but the defendants have filed motions for immunity and dismissal of charges. The hearings are scheduled for Dec. 22 and Feb. 22 in Clayton County Superior Court, records show.
Walker-Asekere's lawyers denied the criminal charges, saying she was “on her first day as coach of the girls' basketball team and relied on the instructions of the Elite Scholars Academy athletic director and staff in conducting this conditioning exercise,” court documents state.
When CNN contacted Palmer last year, a man on the phone said, “No comment,” and hung up. Palmer's attorney did not respond to CNN's request for comment at the time.
The death was initially ruled an accident. Eric Bell, Imani's father, expressed his gratitude when he learned of the charges last year.
“It’s refreshing, but at the same time we want to continue fighting for justice,” he said.
Miller believes the arrests mark the first time murder charges have been brought against coaches accused of negligence. The lawsuit aims to ensure no other child has to suffer Imani's fate, he said at the time.
“Coaches need to think twice about how hard they want to push their athletes to win,” Stewart said last year when announcing the lawsuit.
The-CNN-Wire
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