(Published Thursday, January 4, 2007 11:18:35 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Mike DuPre' Gazette staff
BELOIT-The innocent play of children caused an accident in a Beloit Laundromat on Wednesday night that killed an 8-year-old girl and injured another.
Killed was Ana Karen Mendoza of Beloit.
Police were withholding the name of the second girl-a 10-year-old cousin of Mendoza's who lives in Janesville-until they were sure that Janesville school officials were properly notified and could provide grief counseling if they thought it necessary.
The Beloit School District is making counseling available, Beloit police said in a press release.
The girls, a younger boy and two adults-including the dead girl's mother, Agoncion Mercado of Beloit-stopped at the Liberty Avenue Laundromat, 161 Liberty Ave., about 6:45 p.m. to use the restroom, said Capt. Bill Tyler of the Beloit Police Department.
The Laundromat is near the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Fifth Street.
A surveillance tape at the laundry showed that within seconds of entering the building, the kids began playing near a long, two-tiered table used for folding clothes, Tyler said.
The two girls climbed together on one side of the table, and it rolled over, striking Mendoza in the head and neck and cutting her cousin, Tyler said.
Mendoza suffered crushing injuries from the heavy table and died at Beloit Memorial Hospital. The 10-year-old was treated for lacerations and released from the hospital, Tyler said.
Police and fire department paramedics tried to resuscitate Mendoza at the scene and en route to the hospital, he added.
The surveillance tape showed no foul play or neglect, Tyler said.
