A mother who lost her son in a bizarre and tragic accident this summer is finally speaking out. Tenitia Cullum of Rochester, New York, turned her back for only a second outside the Tim Hortons where she worked, and her 3-year-old son, Bryce, suddenly fell through a grease trap and died. The incident happened back in July, and the mom has filed a claim against the city for failing to maintain the grease traps that led to her son's death.
The mom brought her son with her to work July 15, but she had no idea the day would end in such tragedy.
13 WHAM reported back in August that Bryce was running around outside while his mom was emptying trash at the restaurant.
“It was just a normal day," Cullum recalled.
The Daily Mail reports that Cullum had only brought her son to work with her at the last-minute because her child care plans for the day had fallen through. Around 11 a.m., the mom turned her back for only a few moments, but her son was nowhere to be seen. Bryce had apparently walked over the lid of one of the restaurant's grease traps, which wasn't properly bolted into place, and fell through. After falling inside, the lid quickly flipped back into place, trapping him inside.
Police later explained that although the trap was covered by a plastic lid, it looked like a manhole; it was meant to be covered with a cast-iron lid.
The trap is intended to intercept most greases and solids before they enter a wastewater disposal system. Once Bryce fell through the grease layer, he became trapped in the water.
After searching for the boy for 10 minutes, restaurant employees were able to pull Bryce out of the trap.
Cullum's manager performed CPR on the boy, but the efforts proved fruitless. It was already too late — Bryce was unresponsive and was later declared dead at Strong Memorial Hospital.
"That was my baby. I will never get him back," Cullum told reporters. "I will never get his hugs back. I will never get his kisses back. He was my only one and I don't think this pain will ever go away."
Two months after the tragedy, Cullum is suing the city for failing to properly care for the grease trap, which cost her son his life.
The mom filed her claim against the City of Rochester and Monroe County on September 27, a recent report from 13 WHAM stated. Cullum intends to sue for negligence and the failure to "maintain, inspect, or control grease traps, as well as a wrongful death claim that resulted from the grease traps."
A notice of the claim continues:
"The City of Rochester and County of Monroe were negligent in that it allowed and permitted the lightweight and unsecured cover to exist on the grease trap and failed to inspect, maintain, control, secure or remove the plastic lid on the grease trap or to place any safeguard of any kind to prevent injury."
No matter what happens, Bryce's death won't be in vain. The city has already introduced Bryce's Law to the Monroe County Legislature, which was passed September 10. Under the new law, grease traps with manhole covers would need to be bolted or locked into place to prevent future accidents.
Meanwhile, Cullum is still reeling from the death of her son.
"My main question is just 'Why?' I ask myself every day. 'Why?'"
The mom told 13 WHAM in August that her son is never far from her mind.
"He knows mommy loves him," she said. "He knows it."
