Settlement reached in death of boy at a Michigan dairy farm

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) — A $100,000 settlement has been reached in a federal wrongful death lawsuit by the family of one of two young people who died in 2010 after falling into a tank at a Barry County dairy farm.

The Grand Rapids Press reports the family of Francisco Martinez, 17, reached the agreement with Yankee Springs Dairy Farm and its owner in U.S. District Court.

WOOD-TV reports a judge is to rule June 12 on the settlement.

Martinez and Victor Perez, 28, were overcome by fumes emitted by decaying molasses in the tank at the farm southeast of Grand Rapids. Authorities say they died of asphyxiation after being trapped in the oxygen-depleted environment.

The Perez family has a lawsuit pending in Barry County Circuit Court. Trial is planned next month.