A 3-year-old infant was killed yesterday in Belize City when a barbecue grill fell on him. It occurred around 5 yesterday evening on Far West Street. It is a tragic end – but how could it have happened? We went on Far West Street this morning looking for answers.
Keith Swift Reporting,
These are the books and uniform shirts which Sophie Gladden had bought for her 3 year old son Kevin Garnett who was supposed to start pre-school next month. But Kevin won’t ever get to use them because yesterday he was crushed to death when this barbecue grill fell on him. His cousin Ernest Gladden watched it unfold helplessly.
Ernest Gladden, Cousin of Deceased
“My little cousin Kevin ran outside and knocked me and I asked him what it was and when I turned around to see what my little cousins were doing and I spun around back, it was because I saw Kevin on the ground and the grill was coming down on top of his face. I watched him die in front of me and I couldn’t do anything because by the time we spun around, it was because he was on the ground and the grill was falling on his face.”
Kevin’s mom Sophie Gladden was inside when the incident occurred.
Sophie Gladden, Mother of Deceased
“I heard my daughters screamed and I ran out and when I ran out I bucked up into my nephew and I asked what it was. He just looked at me in shock and he said, ‘I am sorry Sophie.’ I ran out, I came out here and I met my baby down there laid out.”
This is the barbecue grill which fell on little Kevin. It looks harmless but it is made from a one hundred cylinder butane tank. That’s way too much weight for anyone to take – much less a three-year-old boy.
Sophie Gladden,
“It was on a tilt and he ran out to jump on it, like to climb, and he lost his balance and the grill fell on him.”
The bloodstain marks the spot where little Kevin fell. He was killed almost instantly. His mom Sophie who is expecting her fourth child is trying to cope with the loss of her only son.
Sophie Gladden,
“I lost my brother a year and a half ago. My only brother got shot and I am just trying to get over that. Now I can say I know how my mom feels. My brother was here 25 years with her and my son was here three years with me; same feeling. It is rough. It’s rough.”
A post mortem on baby Kevin was scheduled for today. Police are investigating if there was any neglect on the part of Kevin Garnett’s parents.
