Grieving parents promise to sue NYC day care where daughter drowned

The grieving parents of a 1-year-old girl who apparently drowned at a Bronx day care while a caretaker was busy cooking promised Tuesday that they’ll sue the center for negligence.

Toddler River Wilson died just steps from her family’s home in an above-ground pool at the home-based Ana’s Butterfly Garden on Aug. 1 while an oblivious 47-year-old caretaker apparently spent 20 minutes preparing food, sources told The Post.

“Our beautiful baby girl was taken from us when she was only 20 months old,” River’s dad Ifiok Wilson told reporters at a news conference.

Wilson claimed that he and his wife haven’t gotten answers from law enforcement or officials in the 75 days since his daughter’s death.

“I want each of you to imagine burying your baby and then having no answers about what happened to her,” Ifiok said at the conference, held at the Police Officer Hilario Serrano Playground — one of River’s favorite spots.

River’s mom, Ima Wilson, was too overcome with grief to speak, and wept during the gathering.

The day care, and owners Ana Feliz Gonzalez and John Guzman will be named in the forthcoming suit, according to the family and their attorney.

The operators have not been charged with any wrongdoing and couldn’t be reached for comment.

“We are here today to let you and everyone know that we will not give up the fight for justice for River,” Ifiok said. “We will not rest until we are answered and have accountability for River’s death. We deserve that. River deserves that.”

The tot apparently fell into the pool, police sources previously said — but there’s never been an official explanation of how the tragedy happened, attorney James Williams said.

“Meanwhile, the cowardly day care owners hide behind the gates of their building, almost thumbing their noses at these parents who they see out there day after day at that memorial,” Williams said. “We’re going to start with the people we know are responsible. We’re going to start with these despicable actors who had a duty to watch River, to supervise River, to care for River.”

US Rep. Ritchie Torres said that River was “catastrophically and fatally failed by a broken system,” citing the lax oversight from both the allegedly inattentive worker and the state Office of Family and Children’s Services.

Torres, who introduced a bill called “River’s Law,” to ban swimming pools at residential day-cares, said the state office only deemed the pool unsafe after River’s body was pulled from it.

OFCS discovered on Aug. 4 that the pool had inadequate barriers, despite years of inspections certifying its safety.

Torres lamented the office as “too late and too slow.”

“If there had been proper adult supervision, River would be alive today,” Torres said. “If there had been thorough and complete safety inspections, River would be alive today.”

The OFCS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“No parents should have to beg for answers about their child’s death,” Ifiok said. “No parents should be forced to grieve in the dark, waiting for a phone call with answers that never comes. Yet, this is the misery that my wife and I live everyday.”