Falling gate kills 4-year-old boy

A 4-year-old boy was killed Wednesday afternoon when a gate at his apartment complex fell on top of him, a freak accident for which officials are still searching for a cause today. It happened at about 5 p.m. yesterday at the Las Palmas Apartments at ; according to reports, 4-year-old Ronkeith Leroy Andrews and his 5-year-old sister were walking past the gate when the gate suddenly fell, crushing Ronkeith.

What's unclear is why the gate fell: City Councilman Jarvis Johnson said he had heard that a fire truck might have bumped the gate while responding to an emergency at Las Palmas a couple of days ago, knocking the gate off its brackets. The 93-inch-tall gate wasn't in regular use; according to KHOU, it had been locked for years. "It's a metal gate. It just doesn't fall," Johnson told Channel 11. "That's absolutely some negligence on the part of somebody somewhere." HPD was on the scene yesterday taking photos and measurements, and KTRK reports that HFD investigators are at the complex this morning to talk with the apartment complex's management.

Deric Muhammad with the Nation of Islam told KHOU that a public account will be opened soon so people can make donations to Ronkeith's family, who are Katrina evacuees.