Posted on 11/21/2002 10:35:16 AM PST by pa_dweller
He's from Bosnia. New to the United States, never trick-or-treated before.
It's just after dusk and he wears a ghoulish white mask. His 5-year-old cousin is a witch with a black hat and orange hair. They're running around with other Bosnian kids, none older than 8, with no accompanying adults.
They run onto a dark road in Carlisle, right into a moving minivan.
Asmir dies of his injuries.
The details of the Halloween tragedy bring fresh pain with each telling. They are being relived this week by many of the estimated 2,000-plus members of central Pennsylvania's Bosnian community, as Asmir's picture and word of his death appears on the front page of a Bosnian community newsletter.
The newsletter's editor, David Becirovic, said Asmir's death goes beyond simply tragedy. It is a reminder to the recently arrived Bosnians of the importance of adapting to American customs, such as close supervision of small children.
And -- for Bosnians shocked that the driver of the minivan was not jailed, even though it was an accident -- it shows the American system of justice is vastly different than what they have known.
"It stressed the whole community because somebody died, because of some stupid things in our adjustment of our behavior," Becirovic said. "The result will be that parents in the families with small children will be more careful now."
Asmir's parents, through an interpreter, declined to be interviewed for this story.
Death ruled accidental:
Carlisle police said the investigation is over. Asmir's death was accidental and no charges will be filed.
Chief Stephen Margeson and Lt. Douglas Pfahl said the driver of the minivan was doing nothing wrong. There is no indication he was speeding, intoxicated or driving in an unsafe manner.
The section of Waggoners Gap Road is a particularly dark one, with a single streetlight nearby. The sun set that day at 5:08 p.m. Twilight ended at 5:36 p.m.
It was 5:48 p.m. when Asmir and three other Bosnian children ran onto the road. One of them crossed the street, saw the approaching vehicle, and yelled for the others to stop.
They didn't. Margeson said of the driver, "They literally darted into him from the side."
At the hospital, Asmir's 5-old cousin, Suada Mustafic, told police she saw the vehicle coming but thought she could beat it. She suffered a broken arm and cuts to her head.
Trick-or-treat was scheduled to begin in Carlisle at 6 p.m.
Asmir's parents were not home that afternoon. Margeson said Asmir and Suada "kind of let themselves out of the house" without the knowledge of their baby sitter to get an early start on trick-or-treating.
Pfahl said: "They shouldn't have been out at all. But it's a cultural thing."
The accident occurred within sight of Bellaire Elementary School, where Asmir was in kindergarten.
His teacher, Kathi Smith, said she remembers the brown-haired boy as a student who tried very hard. His English was limited, but improving. He could count to 30.
He was happy that afternoon at school, wearing ghoul mask and clutching Smith's hand as he led a line of costumed children in the school's Halloween parade. He waved when his father appeared along the parade route.
"Bosnian parents really don't know what trick-or-treat is," Smith said, adding that she understands Asmir and his cousin were with older children. "In that culture, they are often with the older children."
Cultural differences:
Becirovic is an ex-president of the Bosnian community association. He estimates that more than 2,000 Bosnians have settled in the Harrisburg-Carlisle area since civil war tore the country apart in the 1990s.
One reason central Pennsylvania attracts them is climate, he said. It is temperate here, somewhat similar to Bosnia.
The College Park Apartments in Carlisle have a particular attraction. The cluster of town homes, unbroken by high-traffic streets, form a self-contained community within walking distance of schools and next to Waggoners Gap Road, which leads into the heart of Carlisle.
More than 30 Bosnian families, including Asmir's parents, live there. Many have children.
Their approach to child supervision may still be rooted in their past, Becirovic said. In Bosnia, there was no Halloween, and the sense of community was different.
"In Bosnia before the war, your child could go outside and nobody would injure him. A neighbor might see your children too far from home and bring him back home. Conditions were deeply different. We need time to adjust our behavior," he said.
Carlisle police investigating the accident experienced some of the cultural differences. Officers at times were asked to remove their shoes -- a customary action for visitors to homes in Bosnia -- as they sought interviews with some College Park families.
Pfahl speculated that the effects of the civil war linger in the Bosnians. "I don't think they trust the police much," he said.
Some local Bosnians have asked why a driver involved in a fatal accident doesn't automatically go to jail. Margeson, the police chief, said the driver and his family feel terrible about an accident they could not prevent.
He said, "It was a tragedy all the way around, no matter how you look at it." FORD TURNER: 255-8486 or fturner@patriot-news.com
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