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Family of boy killed in 2023 NH boating accident is suing Boy Scouts
The parents of 11-year-old Keoni Hubbard allege camp leaders were negligent in their level of training and supervision.
Burned in Jena Hubbard’s memory are the last words she said to her son, Keoni, before sending the 11-year-old off to a Scouting camp in New Hampshire in 2023.
“I gave him a hug. I told him I loved him, and I said, ‘Have fun and be safe,’ Hubbard recalled Tuesday. “And that haunts me, because he was not safe.”
Keoni Hubbard, a Boy Scout from Lexington, Massachusetts, was killed in a summer camp boating accident on July 7, 2023 — a tragedy his family says could have been avoided. The boy’s parents are now suing the Boy Scouts of America, recently rebranded as Scouting America, and its Daniel Webster Council, which operates the Griswold Scout Reservation and Camp Bell in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.
“Parents, please do not trust the Scouts to take care of your kids,” Jena Hubbard urged in a news conference announcing the lawsuit. “Keoni hated people getting hurt. In his honor, we are fighting so that no family goes through the pain and suffering that we are trying to survive every day.”
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Keoni Hubbard had been visiting Camp Bell with his local Boy Scout troop. The day he died, he was one of eight Scouts aboard a motorboat operated by an 18-year-old counselor, according to the New Hampshire Superior Court lawsuit. The counselor had received his boating license just 10 days prior and had undergone less than an hour of training, lawyers for the Hubbards allege.
The teen was “utterly unqualified” and “put in an impossible situation with a job he was destined to fail,” said J. Tucker Merrigan, an attorney representing the family. The counselor ultimately struck Keoni Hubbard with the boat’s propeller as Hubbard swam in the lake.
What the Hubbards’ lawsuit says
The Hubbards allege camp leaders were negligent in their level of training and supervision, placing the counselor and Scouts in a dangerous situation in violation of several Scouting America safety rules. The family’s lawyers pointed to requirements for a “qualified supervisor” aged 21 or older; on-duty lifeguards; a stationed lookout; and a buddy system, among other policies.
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Multiple Scouts also told investigators that prior to Hubbard’s death, the counselor operating the boat had demonstrated a “disturbing pattern” of dangerous behavior, Merrigan alleged. The counselor is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
“We didn’t want to sue the operator of this boat, but that’s what the law dictates,” Merrigan emphasized. “And he was put in an impossible situation due to the complete disregard for any common sense by the leaders of the organizations that are also defendants.”
Keoni Hubbard’s death, he said, is a “damning example of what occurs when an organization places critical responsibilities in the hands of the unqualified.” Merrigan called for mechanisms to ensure safety precautions are actually enforced.
“It is our hope that a comprehensive water safety program will be implemented for all Boy Scouts in America, as well as, hopefully, adoption from other camps and other institutions that take care of children involving water safety,” he said, adding that attorneys expect a jury will deliver a verdict “well in excess of $100 million.”
In a statement, Scouting America said it “continue[s] to grieve the loss of Keoni Hubbard following his tragic death.”
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“We wish to, again, express our deepest condolences to Keoni’s family and friends,” the organization added. “We understand that a lawsuit has been filed involving Keoni, and we have not yet had an opportunity for a thorough review.”
Remembering Keoni Hubbard
Following his death, Keoni Hubbard’s troop created an unofficial Scout patch to honor their friend and keep him close.
“In the wake of this tragedy, friends, schoolmates, and fellow Scouts have reached out to the Hubbard family, sharing how deeply Keoni touched their lives,” Merrigan said, adding, “He was one of those kids that just made everyone happy.”
Describing her son as a “gift,” Jena Hubbard said she had to quit her job due to her overwhelming grief. John Hubbard, Keoni’s father, described the lasting pain of losing a child.
“I am trapped in my own version of hell on Earth, a hell where the best part of my day is when I wake up and for half a moment, I forget my son is dead,” he said.
“Some people say time heals, but that’s not true. Time does not heal this,” John Hubbard added. “The best thing I can do is hold the Boy Scouts accountable, share our story, and — most importantly — help others the way Keoni did: by being a kind and good person.”
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