City mourns the loss of four children
Monday December 16, 2002

By BIPASHA RAY
Associated Press Writer

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) One of three boys who survived an icy plunge into the Merrimack River as four friends drowned said he prayed God would rescue him.

``I was scared and cold, but I was hoping that God would get me out of this mess,'' 10-year-old Jaycob Morales said Monday on NBC's ``Today'' show.

Four young boys perished Saturday after falling through the thin ice of the Merrimack River, including: William Rodriguez, 11, Christopher Casado, 7, Victor Baez, 9, and Mackendy Constant, 8.

Another survivor, 9-year-old Francis Spraus, sobbed when he was asked on the ``Today'' show about the terrifying moments when his friends slipped through the ice.

``I thank God that God gave me another life,'' he said through tears.

Varying accounts of the drownings were given by the boys and rescue workers. It was still unclear whether all seven boys had been playing on the ice or whether some walked onto the ice to try to save their friends.

On the ``Today'' show, Morales said Rodriguez went out onto the ice as the boys returned from the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club. Morales said Ivan Casado, Christopher's 9-year-old brother, warned Rodriguez against going out too far because the ice was thin.

Morales said he saw Rodriguez fall through the ice.

``I went to go help him out and I fell in,'' Morales said.

Morales said Constant then took off his coat and tried to pass it to them to pull them out.

``Then when they tried to pull us out, everybody fell into the water,'' he said.

Mayor Michael J. Sullivan was expected to announce on Monday details of a trust fund for the families, and grief counselors were to be sent to city schools to help students come to terms with their pain.

``A lot of us are going to miss those kids,'' Manuel Reyes, 14, said as he stared at the river that had claimed his basketball buddies.

On Sunday, a steady stream of mourners placed candles bearing the children's names, religious tokens, flowers and toys on the muddy berm overlooking the river near Water Street in this working class city of 72,000 about 25 miles north of Boston.

The boys say that William Rodriguez, 11, fell through first, as he played on the ice on his way home from the Boys and Girls Club down the street. Five of his friends, in a valiant rescue effort, also fell through the one- to two-inch thick ice, they said.

Ivan Casado, closest to shore in waist-deep water, scrambled up the bank and went for help. He found a neighbor, Jacques Fournier, 63, who called emergency personnel then tried rescuing them with a rope that proved to be too short.

When Fournier arrived on the scene, four of the boys, Rodriguez, Mackendy Constant, 8, Victor Baez, 9, and Christopher Casado, 7, Ivan's brother, had slipped below the water.

The boys who died were trapped under the ice for at least 10 minutes, and were unconscious when they were pulled from the river, said Lawrence Police Chief John J. Romero. They were about 25 feet from shore in water up to 8 feet deep, he said.

``My legs started to get stiff and I had a freezing headache,'' Francis Spraus told the Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence. ``I was hanging on to Christopher but he started to slip under. I tried holding on to his hand, but it was like he let go.''

``We're feeling a lot of pain but we're proud of them,'' said Eusebio Alicea, 36, the Casado brothers' uncle. ``We consider them little heroes.''

One sign left on the bank Sunday read: ``I will miss you my friend Christopher, your friend Zachary.''

Rebeccah Perez, 11, who lives near where the tragedy happened, said Mackendy teased her all the time.

``I feel really sad. It's scary. But everybody who lives around here knows not to go in (the river) there,'' she said.

Christopher Santos, 10, said he missed his friend Victor, known as ``Ricky.''

``We built clubhouses together and rode our bikes together. I wish he was alive but he's not,'' he said.

Sullivan called it a ``tragic course of events'' for the families as well as for the city.

``They were just people in shock. Here are some parents who lost their kids,'' he said of a meeting with one of the families. ``There's nothing you could say that would make them feel better.''



(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)