NJ family sues Texas park over son’s ‘brain-eating amoeba’ death

The mother of a New Jersey man who died of a rare "brain-eating amoeba" after visiting a Texas surf resort last fall has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the water park.

ABC News said the suit filed last week named says "Rita and Vincenzo Stabile have suffered severe mental anguish, grief and sorrow as a result of the death of their only son Fabrizio Stabile and are likely to continue to suffer for a long time in the future."

Health officials say testing found evidence of the rare but deadly amoeba at one of the four attractions at the BSR Cable Park and Surf Resort in Waco.

Fabrizio Stabile was 29 when he died on Sept. 21 from an infection, which can happen when contaminated water enters the body through the nose.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Stabile's lawsuit seeks more than $1 million. It alleges the park's blue-green dyed waters "masked a pathogen soup" that allowed the amoeba to thrive.

The park says it's since installed a new water filtration system.

Stabile was a 2007 Holy Spirit High School graduate and was a Ventnor resident at the time of the incident, as reported by the Press of Atlantic City.

His obituary said he previously had worked for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

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