Aug
7
Sergio Pedroza Jr., an active 11-year-old known in Little Village for his enthusiastic hugs, died late Sunday when flames consumed his home in the 2400 block of South Lawndale Avenue.
Sergio had severe autism, said his uncle and godfather, and was limited in speech but not affection.
“He gave you a hug every time you’d see him,” Salvador Pedroza said.
Juana Galicia, a longtime neighbor of the Pedrozas, also remembered Sergio’s hugs. On Friday, Galicia saw Sergio strolling down the sidewalk with his mother, Leticia Pedroza.
“Juanita, Juanita,” Sergio yelled, running up to embrace his elderly neighbor.
About 10:30 Sunday night, Sergio’s mother was on the porch when the flames broke out, Salvador Pedroza said. She tried to get back inside but couldn’t.
Galicia saw Leticia Pedroza run down the street screaming, “Mi nino, mi nino,” which translates to, “My boy, my boy.”
Sergio was trapped in a first-floor living room near where he slept. By the time firefighters arrived, officials said, flames were billowing out the windows. About 60 firefighters responded, rescuing four people from the house. No one else was seriously injured.
On Monday morning, the scene smelled faintly of char. Through broken-out first-floor windows and blackened wood, burned mattresses were visible from the sidewalk. The porch was framed by two white planters shaped like swans. The red flowers inside were unharmed.
Chicago Fire Department investigators continued their work Monday. The cause of the blaze remains unknown, but department officials said the home’s smoke detectors were not working.
The boy’s father, also named Sergio Pedroza, was out for a short drive when his car broke down Sunday night. Had his hose filter stayed connected to the carburetor, the elder Sergio would have been home when the fire erupted, Salvador Pedroza said.
“It was an act of God to remove the little hose so he didn’t get there on time,” he said.
Both parents declined to comment through Salvador Pedroza, with whom they are staying. Memorial arrangements are pending.
The fire shook the block of two-story, well-kept homes on the West Side. Neighbors stood on their porches as firefighters knocked on doors handing out free smoke detectors and bilingual literature on fire prevention.
Margarita Avila lived on the second floor of the burned brick home with her husband. He woke her up Sunday night as the flames rose. The two made it to a back window, where firefighters took them down to safety.
Avila, who is not related to the Pedrozas, was treated for smoke inhalation. With bandages still on her arm and a hospital band around her wrist, Avila cried softly remembering Sergio. Then someone asked how Sergio’s mother was coping.
“Look at me,” Avila said in Spanish. “I’m sad and I’m in grief. Imagine her.”
Tribune photographer Antonio Perez contributed.
mitsmith@tribune.com
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