REMEMBERING ANDRES

Andres Estrada was a six year old little boy with an infectious laugh and a personality that drew him toward other people. He attended Federal Heights Elementary and loved being surrounded by family and friends. Andres especially loved WWE wrestling. He wore wrestling shirts and shoes and loved practicing wrestling moves on his older brother, Alejandro. Andres looked up to his big brother and was often right behind him, wanting to be wherever Alex was. He was a little boy who laughed, played, went to school, loved wrestling, and wanted to be included in whatever was happening around him. Andres should be remembered for all of those things, not simply for the circumstances that ended his life.

ANDRES’S STORY

On August 24, 2010, six year old Andres Estrada was outside without adequate adult supervision when he pedaled his tricycle into traffic. Andres was struck and killed. His death did not occur without previous warnings about the safety and supervision of the children in his home. The Adams County Department of Human Services had first become involved with Andres and his family in May 2007, after receiving a report that his mother, Myrna Estrada, was leaving her young children alone. Only months later, in October 2007, police officers found Andres’s three year old sibling wandering alone on a busy street corner. A caseworker met with Myrna following the incident. Myrna reportedly told the caseworker that she was able to watch her children from inside her apartment. The caseworker discussed appropriate ways to supervise the children with her, but Andres and his siblings remained in the home. The concerns did not end there. In December 2009, staff members at Andres’s school contacted child protection workers. Andres was six years old and still was not potty trained. Caseworkers determined at that time that Myrna had kept the children’s medical appointments. Three months later, another report alleged that she was no longer keeping those appointments. That referral was not investigated. Four months later, another report was made because Andres was not being taken to a dental appointment. That referral was also not investigated. Then came another warning. Just eighteen days before Andres died, child protection workers received their final referral concerning him. Myrna had left Children’s Hospital with Andres before he could undergo needed dental surgery. That referral was founded for neglect. Eighteen days later, Andres was dead. He had been outside without adequate adult supervision when he pedaled his tricycle into traffic.

SYSTEM FAILURES

Andres’s death came after years of warnings. Before his death, Adams County caseworkers had received eleven reports from people concerned about the safety and well being of Andres and his siblings. Four of those reports warned that the children were regularly left unsupervised and inadequately dressed as they wandered around a busy parking lot. Despite those repeated concerns, six of the eleven referrals were never assigned to caseworkers for investigation. There had already been a frightening warning years earlier. In October 2007, police officers found Andres’s three year old sibling wandering alone on a busy street corner. A caseworker discussed appropriate supervision with Myrna, but the children remained in the home. The reports continued. Concerns involving missed medical appointments were reported. A concern about Andres not being taken to a dental appointment was reported. Referrals were received but not investigated. Finally, only eighteen days before Andres’s death, child protection workers received a referral after Myrna left Children’s Hospital with Andres before he could receive dental surgery. This time, the referral was founded for neglect. Andres and his family were not unknown to the system. There had been eleven reports. There had been repeated concerns about inadequate supervision. There had been a young sibling found wandering alone on a busy street corner. There had been reports concerning Andres’s medical and dental care. And there had been a founded neglect referral just eighteen days before his death. Yet on August 24, 2010, Andres was once again outside without adequate adult supervision. This time, there would be no opportunity for another referral.

JUSTICE FOR ANDRES

Andres’s death brought renewed scrutiny to the history of reports made to Adams County child protection workers and the decisions that had been made during the years before he died. The circumstances surrounding his death were especially devastating because concerns about inadequate supervision had been raised before. These were not warnings that appeared only after Andres died. People had repeatedly contacted authorities because they were worried about the safety of Andres and his siblings. Six year old Andres could not be expected to recognize every danger around him or understand the potentially deadly consequences of riding his tricycle into traffic. Keeping Andres safe was the responsibility of the adults entrusted with his care. Despite years of reports and warnings, Andres was the one who ultimately paid the price.

FOREVER REMEMBERED

There is something especially heartbreaking about knowing that Andres was simply being a little boy when he died. He was riding his tricycle. At six years old, Andres should not have needed to understand traffic well enough to protect himself from it. Someone should have been there to stop him before those little wheels ever reached the road. Andres deserved to grow up. He deserved more school years, more time with his friends, more WWE matches, more wrestling shirts, and many more years following his big brother around and practicing wrestling moves with him. The warnings and failures surrounding Andres’s death are part of his story, and they should never be forgotten. But they are not who Andres was. Andres was a son, a brother, a student, a wrestling fan, and a six year old little boy whose infectious laugh was loved by the people who knew him. Abuse Angels remembers Andres Estrada. Remembered. Honored. Never Forgotten.

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