Two children's bikes rest next to the trailer where a six-year-old girl was accidentally killed

Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007 7:18 AM EDT..

Greg Kreller/IPT Two children's bikes rest next to the trailer where a six-year-old girl was accidentally killed Thursday afternoon when she fell under the trailer of the truck her father was driving outside their Caldwell home in the Blackhawk subdivision. Thursday March 29, 2007

Tragedy: 6-year-old girl dies when hit by trailer; 13-year-old boy drowns trying to pull brother from lake

Idaho Press-Tribune Staff

Two Caldwell children died in separate, tragic accidents this week.

One occurred Thursday afternoon at the family’s residence. Authorities said the 6-year-old girl was killed when she was run over by a trailer her father as her father pulled his pickup into the driveway.

A day earlier, a 13-year-old Caldwell boy drowned in C.J. Strike Reservoir in Owyhee County in what investigators deemed was a heroic attempt to save his 6-year-old brother’s life.

Girl ran toward father

Canyon County coroner Vicki DeGeus-Morris identified the girl killed in Thursday’s traffic accident as Alicia Sanchez.

Investigators said she jumped off the bicycle she was riding and ran to meet her father, 27-year-old Gustavo Sanchez, as he pulled into the driveway of their house on the 10000 block of Avalon Street in Caldwell’s Blackhawk subdivision. Sanchez’ pickup was towing a flatbed trailer which carried a Bobcat tractor, Idaho State Police said.

According to officers, Alicia jumped up onto the still-moving trailer. Then, the young girl fell from the trailer and was crushed under the wheels, unseen by her father.

“It was one of those situations that was just truly an accident,” ISP Cpl. Ed Robertson said. “A little girl ran out to meet daddy and a tragedy occurred.”

Emergency responders said Alicia was already dead when paramedics arrived on the scene. DeGeus-Morris described the cause of death as “massive head injuries.”

Idaho State Police officials said they do not expect any charges to be filed in what they call “a terrible accident.”

Rescue attempt turns deadly

Investigators said Eric Allen, 13, jumped into the frigid water at C.J. Strike Reservoir after his little brother, Tristan, fell in while riding his bike.

An uncle of the boys heard their cries for help and was able to pull Tristan, who wasn’t breathing, out of the water. The uncle revived Tristan after administering a series of chest compressions, but was unable to rescue Eric.

The cause of death was determined to be drowning, according to police.

Owyhee County Sheriff Gary Aman said the accident was very difficult for the family, especially some of the boy’s siblings who witnessed Eric’s drowning.

“We had a death of a young boy; someone lost a son, a brother, it’s very tough,” he said.

Between 8 and 10 family members from the Caldwell area were gathered at the reservoir for a fishing and camping trip over spring break.

Although the weather had been warming up, the water remained a cold 51 degrees. Aman said that it would only take a few minutes for hypothermia to set in — and added that by the time dispatchers received the call, it would have been too late for officers to rescue the teen.

Officers from Owyhee and Elmore counties, along with a search-and-rescue dive team from Twin Falls, rushed to the reservoir to administer first aid to those who needed it, Aman said. Tristan was taken to Elmore County Hospital and treated for hypothermia and possible pneumonia. He was released Thursday.

After a few hours, because of dust storms and lighting conditions, rescue teams delayed the search for the teen’s body until Thursday morning.

Divers went back and recovered Eric’s body around 10:30 a.m. He was found in 18 feet of water about 15 feet away from a dock.

The sheriff expressed sorrow for the family.

“By all indications he was just a great kid,” Aman said. “He saw his brother needed help and he just jumped in.”

Complied by Kendal Murrant and Andrew Van Dam