STEVE SMITH -- What’s Up

It is life’s No. 1 rule: children are not to die before their parents.

When the rule is broken, there is nothing that anyone can say or do to

console the parents. Nothing. Even those with a vivid imagination cannot

begin to conceive of the pain of such a loss.

From this layman’s view, there are three categories of the cause of the

death of a human being.

There is death caused by a purposeful act such as, but not limited to,

premeditated murder. These are willful attempts to cause the death of

another human being.

The second category is death from an accident as the result of safety

negligence. Here, there are cases where some repair or the installation

of a physical feature or some special safety instructions would have

prevented the harm done to another human being.

The third category is called, simply, an accident. An accident happens

when all of the rules are followed and life’s No. 1 rule is broken anyway. Accidents, which happen every day, require no thought other than

grief.

So it is with great sadness that I read of the lawsuit filed by the

parents of Brandon Wiener, one of the children killed when a car crashed

through a fence and into the playground of the Southcoast Early Childhood

Learning Center.

Because he has not yet been tried, we have to use the word “alleged” all

over the place when discussing the actions of Steven Abrams, the man

accused of the crime. Allegedly, Abrams started down the street from the

preschool, picked up considerable speed along the way and purposely

turned his car into the chain-link fence surrounding the playground --

with the intent to cause harm to human beings.

The car crashed through the fence, killing Brandon and another child and

injuring five others. Allegedly.

Brandon’s parents have filed suit against the center, contending the

owners were negligent in the protection of the children who played in

their playground, located on a fairly busy street in Costa Mesa.

They want $10,000 to recover funeral and burial expenses, $50,000 for

“general damages” and an amount to be named later for a reason to be

named later.

I’ll bet my dollars to your doughnuts that the future sum has a lot of

zeros.

The tragedy at the preschool falls under category one -- not category

two, as some claim. From what I have read in several newspapers since the

accident, I do not believe the preschool was negligent in its protection

of the children, and it appears the district attorney will classify this

case under category No. 1 in the descriptions listed above; that is, it

was the work of a person who intended to harm other people.

It should be noted that no criminal negligence charges have been filed

against the day-care center, probably because the people running it

didn’t do anything wrong.

Would a sturdier fence have prevented a speeding car driven by a person

intent on doing harm from harming the children? Possibly, but the fence

would not have prevented a satellite from falling onto the playground,

nor would it have prevented another person from climbing it and spraying

the school with bullets.

We simply cannot do all we need to do to keep our kids out of harm’s way,

short of locking them up in padded rooms. And even then, some will

complain of mental anguish.

I am sad about the deaths of these two children. Very sad. But the

lawsuit filed by the parents of Brandon Wiener is too much. Lest you

think I have no heart, be aware that I donated all of the money I

received several months ago for writing a story of this tragedy and a

portion of it went to a memorial fund for Brandon Wiener, whose parents

are now suing the school.

I am hoping that not a cent of that money has been given to an attorney

to handle this case.

This case reminds me of the scene in “The World According to Garp.” Garp

is considering the purchase of a house when a small plane crashes into

the upper floor. He immediately asks to buy the house, claiming,

correctly, that no airplane will ever again crash into it.

So it is with the fence at the school. I would bet a tidy sum that no car

will ever again crash through it.

I am mystified by this lawsuit. But then, I didn’t lose a child.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer. He can be

reached at (949) 642-6086 or via e-mail at o7 [email protected]