The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner says a 12-year-old girl died of natural causes after she was hit in the head with a metal water bottle during a fight at Reseda Charter High School.
The cause of death for Khimberly Zavaleta was listed as "spontaneously ruptured blood vessels from a congenital abnormality."
Robert Glassman, who represents Khimberly's family in a negligence case against the Los Angeles Unified School District, told KNX News he’s puzzled by this.
“The hospital diagnosed her with a head injury, of course, that is what caused her death, and that is what's so tragic,” Glassman said. “But also, it's very bewildering why the examiner would even, you know, fail to link those two things together, and I'll tell you, we are going to look into that because it does seem very unusual. “
Khimberly died in February, a few days after she was hit in the head during that fight. Her family says she was defending her sister against bullies.
A juvenile was arrested in connection with the fight, but the status of the case is not clear.
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