Child Dies After Running Into Burning Home

[bjork_freak]

STEELTON, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A 6-year-old girl who escaped a house fire early Tuesday died after running back inside to find her mother, authorities said.

The youngster did not realize that her mother had jumped to safety from a second-floor window.

Firefighters found the body of little Da-Onah Watts under a bed on the second floor.

Da-Onah and a 13-year-old cousin had been asleep on the first floor when they awoke to flames and ran from the house, said Police Chief Kenneth Lenker.

The older girl, Nesha Barely, lost her grip on Da-Onah as they escaped, Lenker said. Nesha told authorities Da-Onah kept yelling for her mother and went back in to try to find her.

A neighbor summoned help, but the heat and flames were too intense for police or firefighters to get inside. The home was destroyed.

Da-Onah's mother, Myiaa Smith, 29, was not seriously hurt.

The fire appeared to be accidental and probably started in the laundry room, Fire Chief Gene Vance said.

Neighbor Evelyn Brubacher said Da-Onah was a sweet, well-behaved girl, and she and her mother were very close.

"Her mother watched her," Brubacher said. "A lot of kids in this alley, they just run and run. Not that one."

Steelton, just outside Harrisburg, has about 5,700 residents.

"This little kid played in the neighborhood. We waved at her," the police chief said. "Everybody knew her. It's a tragedy."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/25/pen....ap/index.html

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Not too spooky, but this girl is a little hero.



..

[4mytribe]

Yeah she's brave. Wouldve been an even better story if she couldve saved her MOM.

[A Simple Poet]

Wow, that is simply overwhelming. Poor, poor kid.

I just can't deal well with stories like that,

[Sobeh]

Originally Posted by 4mytribe

Yeah she's brave. Wouldve been an even better story if she couldve saved her MOM.

Did you read it? The mother made it out fine, but the daughter didn't know that, and ran back in to save the mother, despite the fact she was safe on the other side of the house... do you get that?

[WolfMoon]

Sobeh, you are, honestly, a breath of fresh air.

[Mistress-Liriel]

Originally Posted by 4mytribe

Yeah she's brave. Wouldve been an even better story if she couldve saved her MOM.

Am I misunderstanding this? An "even better story"? A little girl DIED. This isn't a ratings sweep for Hell's Sake. And yes, you did misread the story, since the mother was in fact fine. I apologize if I am mistaken, but this just seems like a callous statement.

[Queenofdarkness57]

Stories like that break my heart. It's good to hear about some sweet, well-behaved and brave children after all those teen murders and crimes going on. It's a tragedy that she died in order to "save" her mom. People like her will never be forgotten.

[Virulent Dryad]

Ouch, that's sad. RIP.

[Nivech]

Thats rather painful to read. I wonder how the mother is handling it. It must be difficult to cope with the fact that your daughter is dead because she thought you were in danger. I hope Nesha doesn't blame herself for the whole thing either. Quite the tragedy.

[bjork_freak]

Originally Posted by 4mytribe

Yeah she's brave. Wouldve been an even better story if she couldve saved her MOM.

Exactly how high are your standards?

[endemonidia]

The worst part has to be that the mother was actually safe and well. If the mother had been trapped in the house, then the story would of course have been terrible anyway, but the fact that she wasn't makes it even more tragic.

[succubus,queenofvampires]

Yeah, I wonder how she feels right now knowing that her child died trying to save her.And what's worse is that she wasn't even in there.

She must be suffering a lot.

[Crying_Crimson_Tears]

That poor woman. I hope she's okay. That little girl was so brave. Going to find her mother like that. But it's sor tragic that she died. It's so sad. RIP.

[Alaizabel Cray]

The poor mother. My heart goes out to her.

[insertwittyname]

If I was that mother I'd be devastated for years...that poor little girl! That made me cry.

[Outside_Existance]

wow, that sucks but is a bit ironic, went in to save her mother already saved and died in the process.

[Alaizabel Cray]

Originally Posted by insertwittyname

If I was that mother I'd be devastated for years...that poor little girl! That made me cry.

You'd be surprised how fast people can pick their lives back up after something like that. I mean, the pain never does go away, but you can't just let it take years away from you like that. When my sister died, my parents (and me too obviously, but this is focusing on the parents' point of view) were definately devastated, but within a few months they were back to a normal routine. It was very different circumstances, but I felt a bit of what I imagine the poor girl's mother is feeling. You see, when my sister died it was during a school-wide game, searching for a stuffed animal turkey that the principal had hidden on the playground. The kid who found it would win a giant Pez dispenser that just happened to be a clown. My sister knew I hated clowns, and she told one of her best friends right before they were let out to search that she wanted to win it so she could hide it in my room and scare me. Less than 15 minutes later she was dead, just collapsed while she was running, her heart stopped and she wouldn't breathe. I felt like maybe if I hadn't hated clowns so much, she wouldn't have run as hard and her heart would have held out longer.

Sorry everyone, I don't mean to turn the topic of conversation to me, especially when my problems aren't even on the topic at all here.

[Crying_Crimson_Tears]

That's horrible Cray. I'm so, so sorry.

[the_ink_bleeds_faster]

Well atleast she cared for her mum ya know? But it ended sad for her...