Preschool tragedy revisited

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- Cindy Soto and Pam Wiener still can’t find words to

describe the irreparable loss -- the gnawing feeling, the throbbing pain

in their hearts that they will feel even more strongly today.

It’s a day that marks the second anniversary of their children’s

deaths.

Sierra Soto, 4, and Brandon Wiener, 3, were killed on this day two

years ago by Steven Allen Abrams, who plowed through their preschool

playground in his 1967 Cadillac, murdering the two children and injuring

several others.

That bloody rampage is in the past, and it has been five months since

Abrams was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison without the

possibility of parole for the crime.

Wiener says knowing her son’s killer will be behind bars for the rest

of his life brings her some relief.

“I don’t have that weight on my shoulders anymore,” she said. “I don’t

have that stress at the back of my neck. But our lives have been changed

forever. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of Brandon.”

Soto says the pain never goes away, whether it’s been two years or 20.

“You just try to keep busy and try to stay positive,” she said. “But

[today] I’ll spend time with Sierra at the cemetery, maybe reflect on

what has happened and do some soul-searching. I don’t know what else to

do.”

While Abrams might have been put away in a state prison, there are

other issues relating to the incident that remain unresolved.

The Sotos and the Wieners are appealing a January decision by a

Superior Court judge who ruled in favor of the South Coast Early

Childhood Learning Center in a lawsuit the two families filed after the

children’s deaths.

In that decision, the judge said that neither owner Sheryl Hawkinson

nor the Lighthouse Coastal Community Church, where the center was

located, was responsible for the death of the children.

Hawkinson, the former director of the preschool, says she loved the

children.

“The incident literally broke my heart,” said Hawkinson, who suffered

a heart attack during the slain children’s memorial service.

Today is a day she would never forget, she said.

“I dread this day and pray that all parents and children who were

involved in that incident may find peace,” Hawkinson said.

Still, she said she was emotionally hurt by the lawsuit.

“Our society has changed in such a way and there’s so much hatred

around us . . . children just aren’t safe anymore,” Hawkinson said. “You

can’t put kids in a metal bubble.”

But Wiener’s attorney, Evan Ginsburg, said he believes the parents

have a point.

“The court used the wrong standard in determining foreseeability” when

making the decision, he said.

“With the playground this close to the street, a fence with no

foundation and with a previous incident of a car going through the

fence,” he said, “the question is: Is it possible that anyone could have

crashed into this school, let alone a crazy guy?”

Ginsburg referred to a disputed claim that a postal service truck was

involved in an accident at the center several years before the Abrams

incident. Police have been unable to substantiate that it occurred.

As the issue hits the appellate court, the parents are trying in their

own way to move on and to give themselves a sense of purpose.

Both Soto and Wiener actively involve themselves in Sierra’s Light

Foundation, a nonprofit organization started by Soto in memory of the two

children.

Soto is now lobbying for the passage of Assembly Bill 1421, which

seeks to make treatment mandatory for the mentally ill, even those out of

hospitals.

She spoke about the issue on April 16 before the Health Committee for

the Assembly in Sacramento. The bill is scheduled to go before the

Judiciary Committee on May 8.

The foundation’s primary goal, Soto said, is to make schools and

day-care centers safer for children. She said Sierra’s Light is providing

technical support and guidance to Kaiser Elementary and Mariners

Elementary schools in terms of school safety and also providing matching

funds to Harbor View Elementary School to redo its fence.

Wiener is involved with fund-raising and other activities for the

foundation, including its Volunteer Fair on May 17, a talent show in June

and a bowl-a-thon in September.

“It’s helped me a lot to focus on the positive,” she said. “It’s a

great comfort and gives me a sense of accomplishment.”