Monday, Nov. 17, 2008

Coroner releases ID of 3-year-old boy killed by go-kart in Modesto

The coroner's office has identified the 3-year-old boy who died Saturday in a go-kart accident as Gavin McWilliams.

Gavin's grandmother, Penny Bettencourt, and her boyfriend Danny Lott, said the boy had lived with them in Riverbank for the greater part of the past year, though they did not have custody.

"That was my baby. He lived with me in my home," said Bettencourt, 43. "His favorite thing was baloney. He'd say, 'I want some baloney and chips, no bread.' And mornings I'd cook him eggs and potatoes. For 3 years old, that little boy can eat."

Lott, 44, called Gavin "Grampa's pride and joy."

"Me and him were very, very, very close," he said.

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Each morning, Bettencourt said the first thing Gavin wanted to do was call Lott at work to hear his voice, to know what he was doing.

Lott said he still had questions about what happened on Saturday.

"Why wasn't my grandson being watched?" he said. "That's my biggest issue. He's a 3-year-old kid. He should have been watched at all times."

Bettencourt said Gavin's father, Kevin McWilliams, picked Gavin up Friday from their Riverbank home for the weekend.

Authorities said about 4:40 p.m. Saturday, Christopher P. Burbank, 35, of Modesto was riding a go-kart in a dirt lot just east of Modesto Airport.

Burbank was heading east about 35 mph near Del Este Avenue and Mariposa Road, getting ready to jump a 4-foot high pile of wood chips, according to the California Highway Patrol.

As Burbank prepared for the jump, Gavin walked into the area where Burbank intended to land, the CHP said.

When the go-kart came down, it struck Gavin and caused major head trauma, according to the CHP. He was taken to Memorial Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Burbank was not injured, according to the CHP. Neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to be a factor in the crash, officials said.

Saturday, Bettencourt said she got a call from her daughter, Mallory Willyard, Gavin's mom.

"She said, 'Mom, go to the hospital.' I thought maybe Kevin had gotten into an accident or something stupid like that.

"Then she said, 'It's Gavin. Kevin says he may not make it.' I grabbed my keys. And I prayed all the way there. When we got there, he was already gone."

Bettencourt said McWilliams apologized to her.

"All he could say was, 'I'm sorry, Penny, I'm sorry. It was an accident,' " she said. "The jump they were going over, you couldn't even see Gavin. He was so little."

Bee staff writer Emilie Raguso can be reached at eraguso@modbee.com or 578-2235.

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