Parents sue Bay Area boarding school over death of 15-year-old student

"A private Christian boarding school outside of Healdsburg is being sued by the parents of a 15-year-old student who died in August during a campus-organized activity. Rio Lindo Adventist Academy is named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed Dec. 15 in Sonoma County Superior Court by Yuzhong Kang and Guiqing Wang. Their son, Gengshun Kang, died Aug. 28 while using a makeshift water slide installed down a steep hillside on school property, according to their complaint."

"It was a school-sanctioned event. It was not kids going off and doing something they were not supposed to be doing, their attorney, Jack Sanford, told The Press Democrat. The complaint also names the Northern California Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists (NCCSDA), which is based in Roseville and owns the local campus. Officials had confirmed in September the student died during a school activity but declined to comment this week on the allegations in the complaint."

"According to Sanford, Gengshun was from China and in his second year at the school. He suffered abrasions across his face and died during an event kicking off the 2025-26 school year. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office were called to the campus on Aug. 28 and said Gengshun's death appeared to involve a medical matter. According to a coroner report obtained by The Press Democrat last week, however, he was pronounced dead after life-saving efforts were exhausted by first responders and his cause of death was ruled undetermined."

Parents Yuzhong Kang and Guiqing Wang filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Sonoma County Superior Court on Dec. 15 naming Rio Lindo Adventist Academy and the Northern California Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. Their 15-year-old son, Gengshun Kang, died Aug. 28 while using a makeshift water slide down a steep hillside on school property during a school-sanctioned kickoff event. The lawsuit alleges the school owned, controlled, maintained, and managed the property and was negligent in its use or maintenance. Law enforcement initially described the death as involving a medical matter, and a coroner pronounced the student dead with the cause ruled undetermined. School officials confirmed the student died during a school activity and the NCCSDA emphasized student safety and community support during the healing process.

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