$10 Million Awarded to NJ Family in Drowning

Jurors have awarded $10 million to the family of a South Korean teenager who drowned in a pool in New Jersey three years ago. Soo Hyeon Park, his parents and sister were staying with friends in Ridgewood when he went for a swim.

Family members told police the 13-year-old dove into the water and did not surface.

Police said it took rescuers 30 to 40 minutes to find the teen in the deep end of Graydon Pool, which is a converted pond that covers nearly two acres.

The family sued the town for negligence and The Record newspaper reports jurors returned a verdict Monday after a nearly month-long trial.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)