johnnymk
10-15-2003, 05:34 AM
This happened only a couple of miles from where I live. The pain that the entire family feels must be overwhelming.
Family grieving loss
By ALEX WHITE
Bucks County Courier Times
In the time it took to make a 45-minute trip to the store and back, Cheryl Doan's "cherry on top" was taken from her forever.
"She was the love of my life. She was my cherry on top of the cake. She was my best friend. She was my breakfast buddy. We used to take walks together. She was so happy. I don't know how I'm going to live without her," said Doan.
Doan was in tears yesterday as she talked about her 22-month-old daughter, Julie, who died Sunday after she fell into the blades of a ride-on lawn mower driven by her 8-year-old brother at their First Avenue home in Bristol Township's Croydon section.
The boy's father, Ronald Doan, was teaching the boy how to use the 1984 John Deere mower in their back yard.
"I've got four maturing sons; they would make some money cutting lawns. I have to teach them these things," he said. "It was a controlled situation. I was there.''
According to police, Ronald Doan stopped the mower, but left the engine running. He went to get a gas can to refill the mower's tank, then walked back to a trailer to return the gas can. As he turned around to return to his son, he saw the boy driving the tractor toward Julie's path, said Bristol Township police Lt. Chick McGuigan.
The little girl tripped in the grass and fell in front of the mower, and Ronald Doan didn't get to her in time, police said.
He ran over to the mower, but before he could stop it, the machine ran over the toddler, McGuigan said. After hitting Julie, the mower's engine stalled. Doan then pulled the mower off her and carried her inside the house to call 911. Police said Julie was severely cut on the head and face and bleeding heavily.
The investigation is complete; police have ruled the tragedy an accident. McGuigan said police have yet to determine if the tractor had any safety features that would automatically stop the engine once a person got off the seat.
"It was such a stupid, freak accident. I feel so bad," Cheryl Doan said.
"I'm walking around in a daze," said Ron Doan.
Cheryl was at a local Wal-Mart checking on some Christmas presents the couple had put on layaway when the accident happened. She returned to find rescue workers and police outside her house.
"I came home and I saw all the cars. I didn't know what was going on. ... I never would have dreamt it was my Julie," she said.
Cheryl Doan said Julie was the answer to her prayers.
"I prayed to have another baby. I said, 'Please let me have a girl,' " she said. Julie's first word was "mom," she said.
Now family, friends and neighbors are praying for the Doans as they prepare to bury their baby.
A minister from the family's church, Peace Lutheran in Bensalem, came to the house Sunday night. Yesterday, the family said the Tomlinson Funeral Home in Bensalem was arranging Julie's funeral.
"I don't want to put her in the ground where it's cold. I don't know how to go on," Cheryl Doan said as tears streamed from her big, blue eyes.
A family friend, Ken Hopkins Jr., of Croydon, said what happened is unbelievable. Hopkins is the president of Croydon's Little League and said he had coached one of the Doans' sons.
"I got to know the family through their son, and there isn't a couple more dedicated to their kids than Ron and Cheryl," Hopkins said. "They bust their butts working for their kids. Everything was for their kids.
"It's hard to swallow when a young child dies. They have a lot of support from the community right now,'' he said.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School Principal Daniel Chandler showed up at the Doan home yesterday. He put his arm around Cheryl and spoke comforting words.
"These boys need you too right now," he said of her sons, two of whom attend the middle school. "They'll be taken care of at school.
"This is the kind of thing that makes you see what's really important," Chandler said.
Family grieving loss
By ALEX WHITE
Bucks County Courier Times
In the time it took to make a 45-minute trip to the store and back, Cheryl Doan's "cherry on top" was taken from her forever.
"She was the love of my life. She was my cherry on top of the cake. She was my best friend. She was my breakfast buddy. We used to take walks together. She was so happy. I don't know how I'm going to live without her," said Doan.
Doan was in tears yesterday as she talked about her 22-month-old daughter, Julie, who died Sunday after she fell into the blades of a ride-on lawn mower driven by her 8-year-old brother at their First Avenue home in Bristol Township's Croydon section.
The boy's father, Ronald Doan, was teaching the boy how to use the 1984 John Deere mower in their back yard.
"I've got four maturing sons; they would make some money cutting lawns. I have to teach them these things," he said. "It was a controlled situation. I was there.''
According to police, Ronald Doan stopped the mower, but left the engine running. He went to get a gas can to refill the mower's tank, then walked back to a trailer to return the gas can. As he turned around to return to his son, he saw the boy driving the tractor toward Julie's path, said Bristol Township police Lt. Chick McGuigan.
The little girl tripped in the grass and fell in front of the mower, and Ronald Doan didn't get to her in time, police said.
He ran over to the mower, but before he could stop it, the machine ran over the toddler, McGuigan said. After hitting Julie, the mower's engine stalled. Doan then pulled the mower off her and carried her inside the house to call 911. Police said Julie was severely cut on the head and face and bleeding heavily.
The investigation is complete; police have ruled the tragedy an accident. McGuigan said police have yet to determine if the tractor had any safety features that would automatically stop the engine once a person got off the seat.
"It was such a stupid, freak accident. I feel so bad," Cheryl Doan said.
"I'm walking around in a daze," said Ron Doan.
Cheryl was at a local Wal-Mart checking on some Christmas presents the couple had put on layaway when the accident happened. She returned to find rescue workers and police outside her house.
"I came home and I saw all the cars. I didn't know what was going on. ... I never would have dreamt it was my Julie," she said.
Cheryl Doan said Julie was the answer to her prayers.
"I prayed to have another baby. I said, 'Please let me have a girl,' " she said. Julie's first word was "mom," she said.
Now family, friends and neighbors are praying for the Doans as they prepare to bury their baby.
A minister from the family's church, Peace Lutheran in Bensalem, came to the house Sunday night. Yesterday, the family said the Tomlinson Funeral Home in Bensalem was arranging Julie's funeral.
"I don't want to put her in the ground where it's cold. I don't know how to go on," Cheryl Doan said as tears streamed from her big, blue eyes.
A family friend, Ken Hopkins Jr., of Croydon, said what happened is unbelievable. Hopkins is the president of Croydon's Little League and said he had coached one of the Doans' sons.
"I got to know the family through their son, and there isn't a couple more dedicated to their kids than Ron and Cheryl," Hopkins said. "They bust their butts working for their kids. Everything was for their kids.
"It's hard to swallow when a young child dies. They have a lot of support from the community right now,'' he said.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School Principal Daniel Chandler showed up at the Doan home yesterday. He put his arm around Cheryl and spoke comforting words.
"These boys need you too right now," he said of her sons, two of whom attend the middle school. "They'll be taken care of at school.
"This is the kind of thing that makes you see what's really important," Chandler said.