Sergio Chavira and Luz Encinas sent their daughters to school on November 17, 2023, never expecting what would happen later that day. Arlette Chavira, 9, and her 7-year-old sister left Centennial Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona, that afternoon. They walked across the courtyard to meet Encinas at the junior high where she worked. While on their way, the girls encountered a maintenance worker and offered to help move a heavy metal gate. But a freak accident caused the gate to come off the track, killing Arlette. Her family filed a $15 million lawsuit in 2024 against the school district and recently reached a settlement.
According to court documents obtained by Law & Crime, Arlette and her sister loved to help others.
“Arlette and her seven-year-old sister liked to help out at school. They would frequently give the maintenance staff a hand with all sorts of tasks,” according to the lawsuit. “As they were leaving school, the little girls saw Centennial Elementary’s [custodial manager] outside near the rolling metal gate near the dumpsters on the west side of the school. Seeing that the gate was still open, and knowing that the gate was supposed to be closed after school, young Arlette and her sister asked [the custodial manager] if they could help him close it, as they had done many times before.”…