SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The parents of a 16-month-old boy killed by a door at a Scottsdale fire station, are seeking a $9 million settlement with the city.
Daniel and Courtney Reiss are speaking out for the first time since the incident, as part of a "statement of claim" against the city of Scottsdale - a precursor to a lawsuit.
In the video marked by their attorneys as evidence, the Reiss family claims the city was negligent for not implementing a number of safety measures.
“To know that they’re alive and thriving, and when those doors open, and I didn’t hear anything come out, no crying—nothing came out of him," said Courtney Reiss in the video.
The family claims the folding doors closed automatically, without warning, on their son, less than four minutes after a fire engine left the station.
A safety expert hired by the family claims in the video that Reiss was killed when his head became trapped in a 9-inch gap between the door and a wall.
“I watched him trapped like a rag doll after we had been pulling on the doors and finally one of the firefighters opened the doors and I watched him drop," said Courtney.
The family claims the city failed to install caution signs, a protective guard over a gap where the door closed, and audible and visual warnings that the door was under operation.
They also claimed firefighters weren't adequately trained to use the doors.
The video also features a 3D animation, which shows that Joey's head was fractured across his entire skull.
Courtney, who was present during the accident, says she still struggles with flashbacks.
"Seeing his little head caught between the doors, of me trying to pull on the doors, of watching him slump down," she said.
Meanwhile the couple says Joey was supposed to be an only child and that his loss continues to be an everyday struggle.
"We had our life mapped out. So now it’s been completely shook and leveled—everything that we knew about our life. And now we have to kind of pick up the pieces. And figure out a way to move forward in this new life," said his father Daniel.
“They say you don’t know what love is until you become a part. It’s so true," Courtney said.
The family said Joey’s organs saved the lives of four people – two infants and two adults.
12 News reached out to the city for a comment, but did not receive a response.