Preschool, site of tragedy, shuts down

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- Little plastic playthings lined the corridors of what

used to be the Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center on Monday.

A lock and chain holding the school’s iron gates together more than

indicated that the center on Magnolia Street had closed its doors to

pint-sized pupils.

Two children -- Sierra Soto, 4, and Brandon Wiener, 3 -- were killed

and several injured at the school on May 3, 1999, when 39-year-old Steven

Allen Abrams drove his 1967 Cadillac into its crowded playground.

Abrams, now 40, was convicted of two counts of murder and several

counts of attempted murder last month, although the trial continues to

determine his sanity and his punishment.

Preschool owner Cheryl Hawkinson could not be reached for comment

Monday. Her attorney, Mona Jeffrey, declined to comment on why her client

closed the school, but said the closure was permanent.

The Soto and Wiener families have filed wrongful death lawsuits

against Abrams, Hawkinson and the Lighthouse Coastal Community Church,

which owns the property on which the preschool sits.

Leo Paredes, an attorney representing the Soto family, said

Hawkinson’s decision to close the school does not change his clients’

position.

“Now that the criminal aspect of the case has ended, we can move on

with the civil trial,” he said. “This is something [Hawkinson] decided to

do. It doesn’t impact us.”

Hawkinson, who started the school three years ago, still had two years

left on her lease agreement but chose to end it Sept. 1, said Rev. Leon

Sikes, pastor of Lighthouse Coastal Community Church.

The church had leased the space to another day-care center for five

years before Hawkinson arrived, he said.

“But we’re not going to do that anymore,” Sikes said. “Our church has

tripled its size over the last three years and we have several uses for

that space.”

The church is now completely renovating the building. It will be used

for Sunday school and Bible studies in the future, he said.

However, Sikes said that Hawkinson had cited personal reasons for

closing the preschool.

“We had no problem with her or the school,” he said.

Sikes said the church in the past had leased the space to day-care

centers because of a high demand for that service in the area.

“Even over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had half a dozen people

come in and ask about the school,” he said.