Police show no record of crash near preschool

Greg Risling

COSTA MESA -- An extensive search by the Police Department on Friday

failed to substantiate the claims of an attorney that a mail truck was

involved in an accident several years ago near an East Side day-care

center that has become the target of lawsuits.

There is no record of a U.S. Postal Service vehicle striking the

chain-link fence that once surrounded the Southcoast Early Childhood

Learning Center, authorities say.

Furthermore, Costa Mesa Sgt. Don Holford noted traffic accidents

involving state or federal agencies are usually reported.

“If this accident happened, it wasn’t relayed to us,” he said.

In fact, many neighbors said they don’t remember such an accident

occurring, although they admit they are concerned about the heavy traffic

on their streets.

Police records show only four accidents have occurred at the intersection

of Santa Ana Avenue and Magnolia Street, where the preschool is located,

in the past 14 years. All of them occurred within the last year.

The most devastating crash came last May when 40-year-old Steven Allen

Abrams drove his 1967 Cadillac through the fence and onto the playground,

killing two children and injuring four others.

Killed in the crash were 4-year-old Sierra Soto and 3-year-old Brandon

Wiener. The families of each victim have filed civil lawsuits against the

school, its operators, the property owners and Abrams.

Frederico Sayre, who represents the Sotos in a lawsuit they filed this

week, maintains the accident did happen and claims the day-care center

operators tried to conceal it because they feared parents may pull their

children from classes.

Sayre said two neighbors claim they witnessed the accident.

He added the absence of a police report is consistent with his client’s

allegation that the school tried to cover its tracks.

“I think the whole idea was to hush it up,” Sayre said. “They probably

wanted to fix the fence before anyone knew about it.”

It took several months before a concrete wall was built after the death

of the young children last year. Cindy Soto said the barrier should have

been erected after the alleged mail truck incident.

Some neighbors agree the day-care center didn’t do enough to protect the

children from the busy traffic.

Patricia DuVall, who has lived in the area for five years, wasn’t

surprised the chain-link fence had been damaged by an oncoming vehicle.

“That fence was never really secure,” she said. “It would teeter if

children leaned on it. I don’t know how any school could operate with a

fence like that.”