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Joanna Ramos (KTLA-TV / April 18, 2012) |
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KTLA) -- The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died after an altercation with a classmate announced Thursday she is filing a lawsuit against the school.
Joanna Ramos died from blunt force trauma to the head after a fight with an 11-year-old girl near Frances Willard Elementary School in Long Beach.
On Wednesday, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office decided they would not file any charges in the case.
"This case was a fight between two children that ended with unintended and tragic results," Long Beach police said in a statement.
The department "hopes that its conclusion brings some peace to both families involved, as well as the community."
Joanna's mother said she understands the other girl involved didn't mean to seriously hurt her daughter.
But she says the school should have known about the fight and stopped it.
The fight happened on February 24th. The two girls agreed to meet after school in an alley not far from Willard Elementary.
Several classmates said the girls were fighting over a boy.
There were six or seven onlookers who watched the fight, which lasted about a minute.
One of the onlookers told the Long Beach Press-Telegram that the other girl grabbed Ramos by her hair and slammed her knee into Ramos' forehead.
Ramos began to bleed from the nose and lip, the classmate said.
After the fight, which lasted about a minute, the girls went their separate ways.
Joanna walked back to the school and her cousin picked her up.
Shortly after she got home, Joanna began vomiting and eventually lost consciousness, Villanueva told KTLA.
"All she kept saying was she had a headache," Joanna's aunt Celina Cervantes recalled.
Joanna's mother took her to the hospital. She was not conscious and not breathing when she arrived in the emergency room, police said.
She underwent surgery for a blood clot in her brain and was placed in an intensive care unit in critical condition.
Joanna was pronounced dead just before 9 p.m.
Her death was later ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroners office.
No arrests were made during the investigation, which has now been closed.
Police say they interviewed the other girl involved in the fight along with the family members and friends of both girls.
Joanna Ramos died from blunt force trauma to the head after a fight with an 11-year-old girl near Frances Willard Elementary School in Long Beach.
On Wednesday, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office decided they would not file any charges in the case.
"This case was a fight between two children that ended with unintended and tragic results," Long Beach police said in a statement.
The department "hopes that its conclusion brings some peace to both families involved, as well as the community."
Joanna's mother said she understands the other girl involved didn't mean to seriously hurt her daughter.
But she says the school should have known about the fight and stopped it.
The fight happened on February 24th. The two girls agreed to meet after school in an alley not far from Willard Elementary.
Several classmates said the girls were fighting over a boy.
There were six or seven onlookers who watched the fight, which lasted about a minute.
One of the onlookers told the Long Beach Press-Telegram that the other girl grabbed Ramos by her hair and slammed her knee into Ramos' forehead.
Ramos began to bleed from the nose and lip, the classmate said.
After the fight, which lasted about a minute, the girls went their separate ways.
Joanna walked back to the school and her cousin picked her up.
Shortly after she got home, Joanna began vomiting and eventually lost consciousness, Villanueva told KTLA.
"All she kept saying was she had a headache," Joanna's aunt Celina Cervantes recalled.
Joanna's mother took her to the hospital. She was not conscious and not breathing when she arrived in the emergency room, police said.
She underwent surgery for a blood clot in her brain and was placed in an intensive care unit in critical condition.
Joanna was pronounced dead just before 9 p.m.
Her death was later ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroners office.
No arrests were made during the investigation, which has now been closed.
Police say they interviewed the other girl involved in the fight along with the family members and friends of both girls.
