Freebeemom
05-10-2005, 12:51 PM
This happend just down the street from my house on Mother's day....
8-year-old suffocates inside family van
Mokena boy became wedged between door, folding panel; death ruled accidental
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
By Jim Hook and Kate McCann
Staff writers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tommy Fagan couldn't stop smiling.
The 8-year-old Mokena boy was awarded his first game ball for turning an unassisted double play Saturday in a park district game. It was the highlight of his baseball career.
The second-grader at Arbury Hills School couldn't wait to show the ball to his cousins and uncles Sunday during a Mother's Day celebration in Worth.
"He loved baseball, and he was so excited and proud after getting that game ball," his uncle Rich Eber said.
"He wore a grin from ear-to-ear."
But as he put away his prize, Tommy was killed in a freak accident inside his family's conversion van. The boy became wedged between the van's rear door and a panel that folds down and converts into a bed, Worth Police Chief Pat O'Connor said
"His own body weight squeezed him against the door," O'Connor said. "This is a horrible tragedy. Just horrible."
Investigators don't know why Tommy leaned over the van's rear seat.
The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled Tommy's death an accidental asphyxiation.
His older sister found him about 15 minutes after he went outside to put away his game ball.
"The ball was found inside the (baseball) glove," O'Connor said. "We don't know what he was doing in there."
The panel had no mechanism to keep it open, O'Connor said.
Witnesses saw Tommy's legs "kicking around inside the van but assumed it was just kids playing," O'Connor said.
Tommy was remembered Monday as a polite child with a passion for baseball.
"He was your typical South Side Sox fan," his uncle said, noting the boy's favorite players were Paul Konerko and Frank Thomas.
Tommy was in his fourth year of playing park district baseball, and this year he reluctantly wore Yankee pinstripes.
"He loved the White Sox," Eber said. "But he loved playing baseball the most. He played whenever he got a chance."
Tommy will be buried in a White Sox uniform, a family friend said. Arrangements were pending Monday.
Next-door neighbor Michelle Bartos said, "He was very smart, very polite. He always got good grades, and he was just a really nice kid."
Bartos' second-grade son had been best friends with Tommy since they were toddlers.
"It's devastating," said Ann Jenkins, whose first- and second-grade sons played with Tommy. "My sons just loved Tommy. He was always fun and smiling and easy-going."
Jenkins said while baseball was Tommy's passion, he was a well-rounded athlete who helped his basketball team reach the playoffs this year.
Arbury Hills Principal Dawn Schiro said social workers from throughout the district were dispatched to the school Monday to counsel grieving children.
Teachers were given a checklist of warning signs to identify kids struggling with the news of Tommy's death.
Schiro said explaining death to such young children presents special challenges.
"They don't fully understand the concept of what death is," she said. "You have to be careful to make sure you're doing what's in the best interest of the kids."
Jim Hook may be reached at [email protected] or (708) 633-5961.
8-year-old suffocates inside family van
Mokena boy became wedged between door, folding panel; death ruled accidental
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
By Jim Hook and Kate McCann
Staff writers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tommy Fagan couldn't stop smiling.
The 8-year-old Mokena boy was awarded his first game ball for turning an unassisted double play Saturday in a park district game. It was the highlight of his baseball career.
The second-grader at Arbury Hills School couldn't wait to show the ball to his cousins and uncles Sunday during a Mother's Day celebration in Worth.
"He loved baseball, and he was so excited and proud after getting that game ball," his uncle Rich Eber said.
"He wore a grin from ear-to-ear."
But as he put away his prize, Tommy was killed in a freak accident inside his family's conversion van. The boy became wedged between the van's rear door and a panel that folds down and converts into a bed, Worth Police Chief Pat O'Connor said
"His own body weight squeezed him against the door," O'Connor said. "This is a horrible tragedy. Just horrible."
Investigators don't know why Tommy leaned over the van's rear seat.
The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled Tommy's death an accidental asphyxiation.
His older sister found him about 15 minutes after he went outside to put away his game ball.
"The ball was found inside the (baseball) glove," O'Connor said. "We don't know what he was doing in there."
The panel had no mechanism to keep it open, O'Connor said.
Witnesses saw Tommy's legs "kicking around inside the van but assumed it was just kids playing," O'Connor said.
Tommy was remembered Monday as a polite child with a passion for baseball.
"He was your typical South Side Sox fan," his uncle said, noting the boy's favorite players were Paul Konerko and Frank Thomas.
Tommy was in his fourth year of playing park district baseball, and this year he reluctantly wore Yankee pinstripes.
"He loved the White Sox," Eber said. "But he loved playing baseball the most. He played whenever he got a chance."
Tommy will be buried in a White Sox uniform, a family friend said. Arrangements were pending Monday.
Next-door neighbor Michelle Bartos said, "He was very smart, very polite. He always got good grades, and he was just a really nice kid."
Bartos' second-grade son had been best friends with Tommy since they were toddlers.
"It's devastating," said Ann Jenkins, whose first- and second-grade sons played with Tommy. "My sons just loved Tommy. He was always fun and smiling and easy-going."
Jenkins said while baseball was Tommy's passion, he was a well-rounded athlete who helped his basketball team reach the playoffs this year.
Arbury Hills Principal Dawn Schiro said social workers from throughout the district were dispatched to the school Monday to counsel grieving children.
Teachers were given a checklist of warning signs to identify kids struggling with the news of Tommy's death.
Schiro said explaining death to such young children presents special challenges.
"They don't fully understand the concept of what death is," she said. "You have to be careful to make sure you're doing what's in the best interest of the kids."
Jim Hook may be reached at [email protected] or (708) 633-5961.