BOSTON – The city is close to reaching a multimillion dollar settlement with the parents of a college student killed by a pepper-spray pellet fired by police during Red Sox (search) celebrations last fall, Mayor Thomas Menino said Sunday.
The payment to the parents of 21-year-old Victoria Snelgrove (search), who was a senior at Emerson College, will be between $4 million and $7 million, Menino told reporters.
"The heartache will never be over, no question about that, but to come to a settlement so the family can move on, I'd like to see it happen," Menino said.
Snelgrove died hours after being hit in the eye socket with a pepper-spray pellet during a raucous celebration outside Fenway Park (search) after the Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to win the American League pennant on Oct. 21. She was among 80,000 revelers.
Two other people were injured by pepper-spray pellets but survived.
"Sometime in the near future we will have an agreement," the mayor said. "It could be settled in a day, it could be settled in a week."
Snelgrove's father did not immediately return a message left at his home on Sunday.
Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said in a statement released Sunday that it would be "irresponsible and unethical" to talk about the case until investigations by the police department, district attorney and an independent commission named by O'Toole are completed in "the coming weeks."
"I have promised the Snelgrove family, members of the Boston Police Department and the community we serve a thorough and transparent review of this incident," she said.
The results of the internal police investigation were forwarded to the district attorney's office about a week ago, said David Procopio, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Conley.
Conley is looking into whether criminal charges are warranted against the officers who fired the pepper pellet weapons.
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