Thread: Deaths leave painful void

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Deaths leave painful void

Neighbors, adults and kids alike, remember the three Ladera Ranch children killed Friday in a crash on I-5.

By ERIKA I. RITCHIE, JEFF OVERLEY and TONY SAAVEDRA
The Orange County Register

LADERA RANCH - The Cobles were the classic Norman Rockwell family. That's what neighbor Lindsay Dawson, a painter, thought when they posed for him.

"The kids were beautiful. They had that classic American look, and I felt their family's closeness," said Dawson, 47.

To neighbors and friends on their cul-de-sac, the three Coble children were extensions of their own families.

More than 100 people gathered Saturday night for a candlelight vigil in front of the Coble home in memory of the children, killed Friday afternoon when a big-rig slammed into the back of the family's 2006 Chrysler Town & Country minivan on the southbound Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway north of Oso Parkway.

"Friday, innocence was taken," Pastor Steve Wright told the crowd. But "remember, love is greater still than death."

The three Coble kids were in the back of the minivan, strapped into car seats and booster seats. Mother Lori Coble, 30, was driving. Grandmother Cynthia Maestri was in the front passenger seat. On Saturday, Lori Coble and Maestri were in fair condition at Mission Hospital.

It was there, Friday night, that Kyle passed away in his mother's arms, a few hours after his siblings died. He had just turned 5 on Thursday. Neighbor Brad Tanner recalled him as a sweet boy who loved playing baseball.

Twelve-year-old Hanna Lesinski remembered helping Emma, 4, plan her birthday princess party just a couple weeks ago. "She wanted to look just like Cinderella," Hanna recalled.

Neighbor Sorin Lasc said the three Coble kids played in his driveway with his children almost every day. "She was a little monkey," he said of Katie, 2. "Just after she learned to walk she was on the scooter trying to keep up with the big kids. She had such an independent personality."

On Friday afternoon, traffic had slowed to a crawl near Oso Parkway. The silver minivan on its way back from the Irvine Spectrum was stopped in the slow lane as southbound cars stacked up.

One reader of the Register's Web site wrote in after witnessing the accident: "It (the minivan) was like a smashed soda can. I saw the faces of the mom and grandmother as they realized and looked back at the children. … They did not have a chance."

California Highway Patrol officials say the driver of the tractor-trailer, Jorge Miguel Romero, 37, was traveling 55-60 mph just before the crash. An initial investigation turned up no mechanical problems with the big-rig.

Romero was not cited, but CHP officials have not ruled out charges, saying an investigation will take several weeks to complete.

Court records show Romero has been cited twice, in 2002 and 2006, for speeding in a tractor-trailer. He was ticketed for driving without his lights on in 2005 and for driving on a suspended license in 1997.

The big-rig, carrying a load of electronics, is owned by KW Express, a Carson-based hauling company. Data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration show that on a scale of 100, the firm has a driver safety score of 74, meaning 74 percent of companies rank higher in that safety category. The score is not considered deficient, however, and further details on the safety record were not immediately available.

Kevin Cho, general manager of the company's parent firm, KW International, called the accident a "tragedy" but also an "isolated incident."

"We have every safety measure that there could be," Cho said.

Jeff Hetschel, a chaplain with the Orange County Fire Authority, said Romero was grieving after the accident Friday, that he hit the windshield in the wreck but got out and tried to help the Cobles. "He's a dad and has two little kids," Hetschel said. "He's grappling with, 'What have I done?' "

Neighbors Saturday were still reeling. Their street in the Oak Knoll community – known as the Christmas Street – is close knit and full of families.

Block parties and barbecues are common. Each year the street wins the Christmas decorating contest. They hold their own Fourth of July celebration. This year the Cobles were in charge of Easter festivities.

"Chris and Lori were model parents," said Tanner. "They were what parents should be. They loved hanging out with their Nana. We'd go down to their house. They'd have a bounce house for the kids, and Chris would make popcorn for everybody."

Kids walked around in groups Saturday comforting one another. Just this week, 11-year-old Maddy Culler helped little Katie ride on a skateboard for the first time. "I don't know how many kids God has in heaven," Maddy said, "but he doesn't need anymore from this neighborhood."

Court records show Romero has been cited twice, in 2002 and 2006, for speeding in a tractor-trailer. He was ticketed for driving without his lights on in 2005 and for driving on a suspended license in 1997.

And Bush wants hundreds if not thousands more of these truck drivers full access to every road and highway in America. If you feel unsafe now with these truckers on our roads, just wait until Bush's "who cares if innocent Americans die as long as corporate profits increase" plan takes effect.

Is he here legally? If nothing was wrong with the truck, what was wrong with him? 3 babies die and no charges? Please keep us posted on this story. God Bless the family.

He has already been sited twice for speeding while driving big rigs. Traffic was at a dead stop, which according to reports is typical for that stretch of highway. He must have been not paying attention at all to rear end that mini van Here a link. Better get your kleenex, very sad.

http://www.lifetomotion.com/

The truck driver he is so saddened by what he's done. That truck driver is a criminal and a murderer. The authorities Always wait till there is a tragedy. Then it's oh well it's an accident and an isolated incident. It's a Crime. If I did that I'm sure charges would have been filed and it would be all over CNN.