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Neighborhood in shock after 3-year-old's death

Child’s death is the region’s fifth in two weeks involving ages 11 and younger.

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer Updated 11:30 AM Wednesday, July 22, 2009

VANDALIA — In the early evening, after visiting with each other and sharing shocked reactions, neighbors of a 3-year-old boy who died when he accidentally shot himself Tuesday afternoon, July 21, took up a collection.

The neighbors, who didn’t want to be identified by name, wanted to buy food for the family they described as a tight-knit group often seen playing in the front yard.

The action, the neighbors said, underscored the friendliness of the neighborhood near Vandalia Butler High School that was rocked by the death of William McAnaul.

Authorities and a 911 call made by his mother indicate that William found his father’s handgun under a bed in the family’s home in the 700 block of Attica Street, and shot himself underneath an eye.

Vandalia police and officials from the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office are continuing to investigate.

Tuesday, as neighbors and friends expressed disbelief, they described the family as people who would happily wave at passing motorists and never caused problems in the neighborhood.

The Attica Street neighborhood is not alone in dealing with the aftermath of a child’s death.

In the past two weeks, at least five children in the region ages 11 and younger have died from suspected causes including overdose, injuries suffered in an ATV accident and drowning.

• On July 7, 2-year-old Levi Jones died from injuries suffered after he fell off the back of an ATV his father was driving the day before in Wayne Twp.

The child’s grandmother said the father and son were riding to a neighboring farm when the vehicle’s front wheel “popped” in a sharp turn when the vehicle hit a large rock.

• On July 9, 22-month-old Hayley Hager of Eaton drowned in the family’s above-ground pool.

Police said she awoke from a nap, climbed the ladder to the pool in the backyard and fell in. There were several other family members in the home at the time.

• On Friday, 11-year-old Brooke N. Coldwell was removed from a ventilator and died after ingesting up to five pills of a narcotic painkiller, her family said.

She had been on a ventilator for five days after her mother said she found the girl not breathing on the morning of July 12. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office has ruled the death suspicious.

• On Saturday, July 18, 5-year-old Zachariah Nesbitt of Hamilton died after accidentally shooting himself in his family’s home.

In a 911 tape, a man believed to be the boy’s father screamed and sobbed while saying, “Oh my God, no. He got my ... gun out of the closet.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel @DaytonDailyNews.com

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