We ask for prayers as we report 5 children have been pulled from a car in a St. Louis Park , Minnesota pond with serious injuries. The driver, 23 year old mother of at least three of the children, was able to escape from the car unharmed. Desperate screams for help pierced the predawn mist and darkness alerting nearby residents to the unthinkable: Five young children who were trapped inside a car that went off an entrance ramp and was still submerged in the frigid waters of the pond.
The driver, Marion Guerrido of Brooklyn Center, was able to escape from the four door sedan on her own. But for nearly 20 minutes, the car remained immersed in the pond with first responders and passers-by initially unable to reach the children. When the children were eventually removed from the car they were at first unconscious and unresponsive. They were taken to Twin Cities hospitals where they were treated for serious injuries authorities said. Guerrido was not hospitalized.
Three of the children riding in the 1998 Grand Am are Guerrido’s, sons Alarious Coleman-Guerrido, 7, Amani Coleman-Guerrido, 5, and a daughter Aliyana Rennie, 1, whose father, Julius Rennie is Guerrido’s boyfriend, her Brooklyn Center neighbors said. The other two children are Rennie’s daughter, Zarihana Rennie, 6, and Zenavia Rennie, 5.
The cause of the accident has not been determined as of late Thursday. No alcohol was detected, according to the Minnesota State Patrol and state records show no driving violations for Guerrido. Despite the mist, the roads were relatively dry and ice free according to authorities and at that hour, traffic is relatively light. The car ended up in an estimated 8 to 9 feet of water which was “incredibly cold.” The children could not be rescued until the car had been at least partly towed from the water. There were conflicting reports on exact6ly when each child was removed from the car but the patrol reported that the emergency call came in at 6:10 a.m., the first child was removed at 6:35 a.m. and the last at 6:55 a.m. Authorities did not say whether the children were wearing seat belts or if any of them were in car seats.
Lt. Eric Roeske said it was unclear why the car went off the ramp or how fast it was traveling. There is no guardrail between the road and the pond. The roads were wet, but ice free, authorities said. “Right now, there are a lot of unanswered questions,” Roeske said.
One neighbor, Antonio Maxwell said things had been looking up for Guerrido; she recently had begun a new job as a bank teller. “She was a very nice mother, very friendly,” said Amy Minor, Rennie’s aunt, who lives in the same neighborhood. “She took good care of her children.”
Please pray for these parents and their five children in the tragic time of need.