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Accidental blast kills 2 children
Police investigating cause of explosion that also left six youngsters injured
| Tuesday, Aug 29 2006 9:24 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Aug 30 2006 5:11 PM
Two children died and five were injured in an explosion outside an Oleander apartment building Tuesday evening.
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Andrew Cole Le, 7, died at the scene, and Jeni Marie Klawitter, 7, at Kern Medical Center, the Kern County coroners' staff reported Wednesday.
The rest of the children involved had minor to moderate injuries, said Detective Greg Terry, public information officer for the Bakersfield Police Department.
The victims — four boys and three girls — were between 7 and 12 years old, Terry said. Some of them were related.
Police did not say what caused the blast. Terry said no arrests were expected and that the explosion appeared to be an accident.
The coroner's staff reported that the children died during the accidental detonation of an explosive device that was thought to have been rendered inert. The staff said the circumstances are still under investigation.
The single explosion at 1913 Maple Ave. rattled windows and shook floors up and down the street, drawing residents from their homes and toward the sound at around 4:45 p.m.
“I just heard a big boom. I ran outside to see my daughter coming across the street,” said Sherlicia Owens, fighting back tears. “She was all bloody.”
The terrified mother’s white shirt was smeared with dried blood as she recalled the scene later at Kern Medical Center, where her daughter, 10-year-old Tyvia Holloway, was taken. Other victims were taken to San Joaquin Community Hospital.
“She has a hole in her back the size of a nickel,” said Tyvia’s aunt, Angel Brady, while waiting at KMC. “And her right arm is just frayed. “Maybe she was walking away or just walking by. But she wasn’t in that circle of kids — thank God!”
After the explosion, two boys were lying in a patch of grass fenced in by chain link, onlookers said, noting that the scene was eerily quiet. Several children made it to a nearby house at 2011 Maple Ave., and were later taken away on stretchers. Investigators were searching both scenes for evidence.
Outside the emergency room at KMC, families looked shattered. One woman in an orange blouse fell to her knees on the concrete, crying over and over “Oh, Jesus! Oh, Jesus! Oh, no.”
Nearby, Marisa Sivesind said the 8-year-old brother of her nephew was killed in the explosion. His 10-year-old brother was also hurt, but she didn’t know how badly.
Sivesind said she saw some boys playing with an old World War II-type shell — possibly a mortar round or an artillery shell.
Gloria Ortiz and LaDonna Sherwood were at the hospital to support their friend who they said lost her daughter.
“She was a precious little angel,” Ortiz said. “When she started losing her teeth, I used to say she looked like a little pumpkin.”
“How could something like this happen?” Sherwood said. “That poor sweet girl.”
The girl’s mother operates a day care at the scene of the explosion, Ortiz said. She would never have allowed a weapon or explosive to be brought into the yard, Ortiz said. The girl’s mother is unable to pay for a funeral, Sherwood said.
Over at San Joaquin Community Hospital, the mood was tense, exacerbated by a loud television.
One anxious father pleaded with hospital officials to see his injured son, who was undergoing tests, including a CAT scan.
Family members chain-smoked outside the sliding glass door leading to the emergency room. Cell phones were passed from one to the other.
Back at Maple Avenue, a few mothers were counting their blessings Tuesday night. Whether by fate or good fortune, they hadn’t let their children play in the neighborhood that evening.
“I feel sick,” said Jerry Bishop, 33, who kept her 10-year-old son, James, at home that evening. “He plays with those kids every day.”
Karen Burridge owns the apartment complex where the explosion occurred, according to public documents available on MetroScan. Frank A. Sendejo and Shirley Soza own the house at 2011 Maple Ave., records show.
An account has been set up at Washington Mutual Bank to help the family of Jeni Klawitter cover her funeral expenses.
The public can donate to the account, which is under the name of Veronica Klawitter, at any branch of Washington Mutual.