Parents’ suit going to state high court

Deepa Bharath

Parents of two children who died when a man plowed his car onto their

preschool playground nearly five years ago have decided to take their

civil lawsuit against the preschool’s former owner to the state

Supreme Court.

On May 3, 1999, Steven Abrams drove his brown 1967 Cadillac

through a chain-link fence at South Coast Early Childhood Learning

Center, killing 4-year-old Sierra Soto and Brandon Wiener, 3, and

injuring several others.

On Aug. 24, 2000, an Orange County jury found Abrams guilty on two

counts of murder, seven counts of attempted murder and three counts

of causing grievous bodily injury. His insanity plea was rejected,

and he went to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

The families of the children sued Sheryl Hawkinson, who owned the

preschool at the time, as well as Lighthouse Coastal Community

Church, where the preschool was located. The superior and the

appellate courts ruled against the parents, tossing out the lawsuit

because they said Abrams deliberately murdered the children.

But the parents say they believe the school’s negligence has

nothing to do with Abrams’ intentions.

“If that playground had been protected better, it would’ve

deterred [Abrams],” said Brandon’s mother, Pamela Wiener. “The

playground should’ve been in the courtyard or they should have had a

block wall, shielding the kids from the street. The children were

directly exposed.”

Hawkinson, who resigned as the preschool’s director after the

incident, was not available for comment on Thursday. The preschool

operated for a while under different management, but eventually

closed in September 2000.

The school was supposed to provide a safe environment for the

children, said Cindy Soto Beckett, Sierra’s mother.

“A 4-foot chain-link fence next to the school is not a safe

environment,” she said. “The school was negligent, and that doesn’t

change whether someone intentionally did it or if it was an accident.

The fact that the court is saying, ‘Well, we would hear it if it was

an accident’ just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Beckett started Sierra’s Light, a nonprofit group that donated

money to schools and other institutions to make their campuses safer.

Wiener has been busy with the Brandon Cody Wiener Scholarship Fund,

which sponsors a camp for children who are grieving the loss of a

loved one.

Beckett said she was persisting with this lawsuit to draw

attention to the issue of safety in preschools.

“We’re hoping this case will set a precedent,” she said. “Our hope

is someone will see this as a warning signal to make a change, that

it will make them more accountable.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].