Suit alleges girl seriously burned in Zozobra-inspired school event

The parents of a 12-year-old girl allege in a lawsuit that their daughter suffered serious burns last year when her Santa Fe charter school ignited a scaled-down effigy of Zozobra on the school’s campus.

The girl was injured during an annual burning of a 15-foot replica of Old Man Gloom at The Academy for Technology and the Classics in Santa Fe on Aug. 30, 2024, just hours before the famous 50-foot Zozobra was set aflame at Fort Marcy Park, the lawsuit alleges.

The suit contends that staff at the school failed to keep students safe during the event, resulting in the girl suffering second-degree burns and permanent scarring. It seeks unspecified monetary damages and costs to be determined at trial.

Jason Morgan, principal of ATC, did not immediately respond Monday to voice and email messages seeking comment.

The mishap occurred when another student sprayed a liquid accelerant on the flammable mock-up, creating a large flash that burned the girl’s hair, ear, chest, neck and left arm and hand, according to the suit filed in the 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.

The burns caused the girl to suffer pain and emotional distress that will require ongoing medical costs, the suit contends. She also has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident, it said.

The school did not obtain a burn permit for the event and fire suppression equipment was “not situated close to the effigy,” it alleged.

“In the course of ATC’s staged ‘burn,’ a ninth grade student was provided accelerants, lighters, and fireworks to place under the effigy to start the blaze,” while the girl and other students watched nearby, the suit said.

The student lit fireworks and placed them under the effigy, which began to burn, the suit said. No adults assisted the student or were near the effigy at the time it was ignited, it said.

An unidentified narrator speaking in the voice of Zozobra said “can someone please make it burn again,” the suit said. Then the student splashed accelerant on the effigy from a gallon jug, creating “a large flash of fire and flame” that burned the girl, it said.