Families beg to close beach where 3 died as sand gave way

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Relatives of three people who died when the sand at a New Jersey beach gave way beneath their feet begged a judge to permanently close the beach, saying it’s only a matter of time before someone else dies there.

Relatives of Brad Smith asked Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez on Friday to order a section of the beach in North Wildwood, along the Heferord Inlet, closed to the public following the July 2012 death of Smith.

Although they are not part of the litigation, relatives of Jamila Watkins and Shayne Hart, who died in a similar 2009 accident, also called for the beach to be closed.

North Wildwood and the state say the deaths were due to natural conditions that government has no obligation to fix.

“Everyone knows that this will happen again; it’s just a matter of time,” said Nicole Gaeta, Smith’s oldest daughter. “It would destroy all of us.”

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