New plaque will honor children killed at school

A plaque honoring two children killed in 1999 by a man who ran them down on a Costa Mesa preschool playground has been removed, but it will be replaced with a new one as part of a new preschool.

Leigh Harrison, lead pastor of the Lighthouse Coastal Community Church, said the old plaque that bears the names of Sierra Soto, 4, and Brandon Wiener, 3, will be replaced with a new plaque that includes their names and the name of the new preschool, the Lil’ Lighthouse Preschool.

The two children were killed on that site on May 3, 1999, when Steven Allen Abrams drove his car onto the playground of the South Coast Early Childhood Center, a former preschool that rented space from the church at the time.

The preschool closed in September 2000, and Abrams was sentenced to life in prison in November of that year.

The parents of the children sued the church and Sheryl Hawkinson, who owned the center at the time. Their lawsuit was thrown out by the superior and appellate courts.

Harrison said the tragedy happened before he joined the church in September 2002.

With the new preschool opening, Harrison said he thought it was the right time to place an “appropriate” plaque in memory of the two children. The plaque that was removed appears to be made of gray marble, similar to a headstone.

The old plaque “was good for the time being. Now the time has changed and we still need to keep them in memory,” Harrison said.

The removal of the plaque was brought up by a resident at a Costa Mesa planning commission meeting on Monday.

Cindy Soto Beckett, Sierra’s mother, said she did not know about the new preschool or the new plaque.

“Whenever it comes up just out of the blue, it’s difficult for me because it dredges up what happened,” Soto Beckett said.

After Soto Beckett was told the new plaque will include the children’s names, but not the date of their deaths, she said: “I think that’s wonderful. I think that’s a very positive statement and a positive way to reflect their memory.”

Frank Custer, the church’s executive pastor, said the church plans to have a grand opening and a plaque unveiling on Sept. 10.

In 2001, the city approved morning sessions at the school. And the planning commission on Monday, allowed the church to have afternoon sessions when it opens to students Sept. 7 at 301 Magnolia St.

The preschool is part of the church’s master plan, Custer said.

At the planning commission meeting, a group of residents submitted a petition opposing the afternoon sessions. Custer said the church was not aware of the petition.

He said the church has not received the petition. Once the church receives it, it will set up a meeting with the neighbors to hear their concerns, he said.

Howard Denghausen, who started the petition, said he and the 29 neighbors who signed it will decide whether to appeal the commission’s decision by Monday.

Denghausen said the concerns vary depending on how close a resident lives to the church.

“My objection in the past is the traffic, and my neighbors who live down the street object to the noise,” said Alice Powers, who has lived near the church since 1950.