Parents Sue Care Center Over Playground Death

The parents of a 3-year-old boy killed when a man plowed his car through a Costa Mesa preschool last year have filed a lawsuit alleging the operators of the day-care center failed to provide a safe environment for children.

The lawsuit charges that Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center is “situated on the corner of a busy street with a considerable traffic flow. . . . There should have been formidable obstacles, fences and safeguards to protect the children from out-of-control cars.”

Brandon Wiener and 4-year-old Sierra Soto were killed May 3 when a car slammed over a fence and ran over a group of toddlers on the school’s playground. Four other children and a teacher were injured. The incident made headlines across the country and raised issues about school safety.

Steven Allen Abrams, 40, who was behind the wheel, faces multiple murder charges and allegations of special circumstances that could bring him the death penalty. A trial date has not yet been set. Prosecutors charge that Abrams deliberately plowed into the youngsters.

Sheryl Hawkinson, the director of the learning center who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, denied all its allegations and said Wednesday she was hurt by the legal action.

“What saddens me is that one person, Steve Abrams, can make a disastrous choice and execute innocent children and pull me down with him,” Hawkinson said.

She said the center, which has about 80 students, is slowly recovering from the tragedy. The school has since erected a brick-and-iron wall to protect the playground.

“We’re still looking for closure,” Hawkinson said. “But I don’t ever want to forget, because to forget would mean to forget the children.”

Brandon’s parents, Aaron and Pamela Wiener, could not be reached for comment. But they allege in the lawsuit that Hawkinson and others knew about the school’s unsafe conditions. The suit claims that before the accident, Hawkinson approached two neighboring churches that own the land seeking money “to erect a stronger and more protective fence.”

“The main issue is that there were concerns, and they were not addressed because [the defendants] didn’t want to spend the money,” Jeffrey B. Lonner, the Wieners’ lawyer, said Wednesday.

Hawkinson denied she sought funds to build a stronger fence. She said the school had always been safe, and that no one could have foreseen what happened.

“This was one sick person’s” actions, she said.

The lawsuit also names Abrams and the churches that own the preschool land as defendants. It seeks $10,000 in funeral and burial expenses, $50,000 for “special damages” and a yet-to-be-determined amount for general damages.