Sunday, July 22, 2007

Feliz C(r)umpleaños, Mi Amor

A Wisconsin state senator accidentally drove over his young granddaughter, killing her, according to an MSNBC report. Senator Dave Hansen said he was leaving to attend a meeting when his granddaughter ran out of the house and got behind his car. Hansen said neither he nor his wife knew the girl had run outside.

The girl, Elliana Zaidel, would have celebrated her second birthday five days after the incident. Hansen said he is in deep shock and attending to the needs of his family.

The accident happened at Hansen’s home in Green Bay at 8:40 a.m in the morning. The toddler was sitting on a sofa when her grandmother left the room to get a blanket so the two could snuggle after the senator left for his meeting, said Jay Wadd, the senator’s chief of staff.

The girl then ran outside. “It happened that fast,” Wadd said. “I think Ellie wanted to be with grandpa. She just loved him.” Green Bay Police Lt. Mike Graham issued a statement calling the girl’s death a “tragic, unfortunate accident. There are no pending criminal charges.”

Elliana was the daughter of Paul and Cathy Zaidel of Stiles, a tiny town just north of Green Bay. Hansen and his wife had baby-sat the girl for about a year while her parents worked. A 59-year-old Democrat, Hansen has been in the state Senate since 2001. He has three daughters and seven grandchildren, according to his official biography.

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