Fire at grandma’s house kills boy, 5, as mom recovers from childbirth at hospital

Catherine Jun / The Detroit News

DETROIT — Just three days ago, Andrea Hodge gave birth to her ninth child, a boy — a priceless gift for Mother’s Day.

On Sunday, her joy turned to grief when she learned from her hospital room that a fire had erupted at his grandmother’s home in east Detroit and killed Hodge’s 5-year-old son, Kavon Williams.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Hodge, 37, of Warren said in a phone interview from her room at Sinai-Grace Hospital. “I’m telling you, Mother’s Day will definitely never be the same.”

Authorities say the fire erupted about 3:30 a.m. Sunday on the first floor of a duplex in the 3900 block of St. Claire.

Kavon was staying in the second level with his grandmother, Barbara Hodge, 65, while his mother recuperated in the hospital, Andrea Hodge said.

The grandmother awoke to the smell of smoke and she and several of Kavon’s siblings who were staying at the home — Andre, 17, Kayla, 3, and Karli Williams, 2 — all managed to escape.

When fire trucks arrived, the home was ablaze and Kavon was still inside, said Deputy Fire Chief Reginald Amos of the Detroit Fire Department.

“It’s a sad situation,” Amos said. “Our prayers go out to the family.”

Rescuers ran inside the building and found the boy. He was transported to Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Amos said.

Barbara Hodge was admitted to Sinai-Grace later that day for carbon monoxide inhalation. Andre Williams also checked into the emergency room by Sunday afternoon, complaining of breathing problems.

Fire officials have yet to determine the cause of the blaze. Authorities say the first floor of the duplex was vacant, but squatters could have been residing there. Initial reports did not indicate whether there were smoke alarms in the building.

The city fire department’s arson unit is investigating.

Outside the charred brick building Sunday, children’s bicycles lay strewn on the front lawn alongside a door torn from its hinges.

On the porch, teddy bears and a cardboard sign made up a makeshift memorial to Kavon:

“You will be missed Little One.”

Survivors are staying with relatives in Metro Detroit.

The tragedy, officials say, is an all-too-common story as a strained city fire department deals with record numbers of fires, many sparked in old, abandoned homes with outdated wiring.

In 2004, Detroit firefighters extinguished 10,288 fires. Broken down per firefighter, Detroit rescuers battle twice as many fires as their counterparts in New York.

“It’s getting kind of rough out there,” said Amos. “We’re doing the best we can with what we have to work with.”

The birth of Kavon Williams, family members recalled, was greeted with excitement five years ago. His sisters were thrilled to have a little brother.

His mother described him as “happy” and “bright-eyed” and about to start kindergarten this year.

And like many little boys, he also had a thing for Sponge Bob SquarePants.

“He wanted me to name my baby Sponge Bob,” Hodge recalled.

You can reach Catherine Jun at (248) 647-7429 or cjun@detnews.com.

Sorry, all, for the slow posting this week–I’ll make it up to you with a two-pack today, with one Car Lust this morning and one this afternoon.

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I’m a fan of turbochargers. It’s easy to be seduced by the thrust of horsepower they provide, of course, but I’m even fond of aspects of turbocharging that other people don’t care for.

Turbo lag, for instance–it’s not great at a race track when you’re trying to time your power application coming out of a corner, but for me that split-second delay before the wall of power hits is a delicious bit of suspense. The car feels as if it’s gathering itself for a sprint; and the short delay only makes the strong pull that follows even more entertaining. The characteristic whistle of a turbocharger spinning up also annoys some, but for me it’s the auditory signal that something special is going on under the hood. That whistle activates a Pavlovian response in me; but fortunately rather than a craving for dog food, it triggers a craving for horsepower.

(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Why choose a Specialist over a Generalist? Independent over Dealer?

As a specialist we know your car better, especially when it comes to the right way to make economical repairs that a general repair shop wouldn’t know about or a Subaru dealer would never consider. Sometimes a vehicle will develop a pattern failure and a real solution needs to be found or a more economical repair procedure can be had.

Through the years we have found solutions to replacing expensive parts by making repairs to existing components rather than just blindly install new ones. We have been able to become very good at repairs and service work by specializing in Subaru and we try to share this experience with our customer with lower labor prices.

We know what parts we can use on your Subaru without sacrificing longevity. Most automakers have become pure design and assemble companies leaving the parts manufacture to other companies. These auto parts companies are free to sell the same parts in aftermarket channels with out the Subaru logo. While in some cases in only makes sense to stick with Subaru parts especially when it comes to slower moving items that may have not been introduced in the aftermarket by the companies that originally made the parts for Subaru. There is also a good chance that the exact replacement part can be found at a 20% savings if you know how to look (we do).

From top to bottom we really know your Subaru well and want to help you get as many trouble free miles out of it as possible. We have seen these cars go well over 300k and I am the owner of a 1992 Legacy with 292k and counting. We take pride in servicing cars with higher miles and often have suggestions to help keep them going. Even though your Subaru may be getting up there in miles don’t discount just how long they will run.

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Whenever I mention the VW Golf R32 to people, those who have driven it, groan that it’s not that much better than the GTi.

Check out the VIDEO REVIEW at the bottom of the story.

An interesting reaction you might think, given that the GTi has been one of the outstanding hot hatches of the last decade. But that’s the thing you see. For the R32 to park confidently as the performance-mobile in the Golf range, it shouldn’t just be the one up from the GTi, it should be the excitement machine. It should be goose-bump raising adrenalin on four tyres - and worth every cent of the extra several thousand dollars spent.

With all this in mind and not one to judge to quickly, I thought I’d better decide for myself.

Exterior
A completely new radiator grill fronts the R32 and comprises two shiny, aluminium twin strips instead of the black honeycomb pattern of the GTi. A polished R32 badge sits to the left. The grill rests above 3 huge air intakes, and between self adjusting, bi-xenon headlamps.

Assisting in the achievement of a sporty look, body-coloured bumpers and door handles, together with a 20mm lower chassis give the car its aerodynamic aspect. Centrally-mounted, twin exhausts plus rear roof and deep front spoilers make up the muscular, aggressive form one expects from a true performer.
 
Interior
Generally, Volkswagen does its best to style interiors that will date well. They do this by coupling quality materials with simple design. R32 badging, ‘engine spin’ aluminium trim and a great looking instrument cluster - unique to the R32, are the only subtle differences that separate it from the rest of the Golf range.

Everything is solid and tight with not a hint of poor workmanship or potential for rattles.

Engine and Safety
The 3.2 litre V6 petrol engine gives you a nifty 184 kW at 6300 rpm, which is about 40 more than the GTi, and a solid 320 Nm of torque at around 3000 revs. Power is distributed to all 4 wheels via Volkswagens 4 MOTION system which aims to achieve better traction and improved safety.

The R32 achieved 5 stars in its Euro NCAP crash testing program and comes standard with ABS, EBS, ESP and a comprehensive airbag package.

On the road
I was keen to give the R32 a good run, even after hearing that it wasn’t hugely different from the GTi, and after the first few k’s along a vast stretch of car-less, winding road, I was having a lot of fun. The exhaust note was guttural and raw. The four wheel drive and big 18 inch wheels, stuck the car to the bitumen on the tightest of turns, and braking and acceleration was precise and true. I was expecting the lowered suspension to be stiff, but not as jarring as I experienced, even with the support of Vienna leather or Recaro seats. It became uncomfortable after a while and I suspected the everyday driver might become a little miffed having to scour the floor every hour for dislodged fillings.

Noise from the slightly rough road was quite loud inside the cabin and the steering wheel, same as other cars in the range, was too far away with no option to readjust.

Ours was the Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) version but you can choose regular manual if you wish. Personally I prefer the good old fashioned gear stick over paddle shift but you can get 6.2 seconds for the 100 kms with the DSG, rather than 6.5 with the stick. I could probably take or leave that but I will welcome the better fuel economy you get with the DSG at 9.8l/100 kms.

I didn’t get the same adrenalin rush that I did in the WRX STi for example, or the Evo – and I was really hoping I would, considering all three are the ‘performance’ cars in their line ups. I wanted my stomach to fill my throat but there was none of that.

Perhaps it’s the 200 odd kilos that the R32 has over the GTi, or that I had held my hopes a fraction too high. But there was nowhere near enough notable difference in performance or looks that I thought there should have been, for the R32 to fit comfortably and justifiably at the top of the grid.

Pricing
You can get 3 and 5 door versions of the R32. Pricing starts at $54, 990.

- Carsguide

It is impossible to ignore the Mercedes-Benz CLS. Even if you can get past the body, which takes Mercedes in a new design direction and turns heads all around the place, there is plenty of other stuff going on.

The CLS is part of a drive to draw new customers into Mercedes showrooms, as well as baiting the hook with something new for people who might be on to their second, third, or fourth Benz.

That’s why it looks so different. That’s why it is loaded with gear. That is why it combines the looks of a new coupe with the practical parts from an E-Class sedan.

Dig deeper and you see that the CLS is one of the world’s first crossover cars.

But, instead of the people mover and four-wheel drive combination that is going to be commonplace in the next few years, this is a cross between a coupe and a basic E-Class sedan.

It is also a cross between a sporty car and a luxury limousine.

Benz has done it first, but don’t be surprised to see other companies doing it within three years.

Porsche has already committed to something similar, called the Panamera.

It is Porsche’s first four-door luxury car, but the company will also ensure it drives like a sports car to keep its existing owners and win new ones.

The CLS has been carefully developed, aiming at cashed-up men 45 to 55 years old.

It is intended to be exclusive and just a bit different.

“Mercedes-Benz is an innovator. It’s easy to get hooked up on the name and miss the appeal to customers,” Mercedes-Benz Australia’s Toni Andreevski says.

“The sales in just three months show that there was a niche there just waiting to be plugged.”

Benz has delivered 268 cars since May, all of them with V8 engines and a price beyond $170,000.

By comparison, BMW has sold only 79 of its 6 Series coupes — the closest rival to the CLS — in the seven months since the start of the year.

“We’re going to get about 400 cars this year. And about 450 next year. This is niche volume and we want to keep it that way,” Andreevski says.

But what about the car? The CLS is a four-person sedan with a low roofline and edgy design, which is an E-Class under the skin.

But the quality is a clear step up from the mainstream mid-sized Benz and the CLS comes with extra equipment.

The price is higher, but Mercedes says the $15,000 premium is offset by more than $10,000 worth of extra gear.

In the basic CLS 350, buyers get bi-xenon headlamps, steering wheel shift buttons, four-zone climate control and 17-inch alloys as part of the $137,900 package.

The range runs through the CLS 500 at $173,900 to the CLS 55 AMG at $347,900.

Benz admits the CLS is the answer to a question that nobody had asked, but says it is doing everything it can to move into new car classes.

We have just seen the preview of the crossover R-Class. And the B-Class, basically a stretched A-Class, has been moved up for deliveries before the end of the year.

ON THE ROAD

The CLS is a great drive. And a wonderful ego boost. It makes you feel good to sit inside the sumptuous cabin and watch people turn around to stare as the car drives past.

But not everyone is convinced by the CLS 500 look. Some people, including our good friend Annie, think the back end looks far too much like the unloved and unlovely AU Falcon

The CLS 500 gets along nicely, with a satisfying V8 burble and surprisingly good fuel economy which averaged 10.7 litres/100km with a fair bit of freeway work.

It would dip if you dug into the throttle, but the seven-speed auto keeps things moving along. We were disappointed only with the quality of manual downshifts into first and second gears, which produced some juddering.

The car is quiet and nicely equipped, and youngsters enjoyed their time in the back-end buckets with the TV tuner.

The rear doors will make a big difference to sales, because many like the idea of a coupe but need real rear access.

The ride and handling of the CLS is nothing special, with a slightly ponderous feel in corners.

It was not as nice as our previous E-Class experience, but the Airmatic suspension is great. It was a bit hit-and-miss when we first tried it in an S-Class, but Benz now gives CLS 500 drivers the chance to choose between a cushy luxury ride and a firmer sporty setting.

You can feel the difference and the settings are spot-on for the job, though our test car did have a bit of a judder through the steering when the front wheels hit bumps in corners.

One thing we definitely noticed was the improved cabin quality. The E-Class has been attacked for its sub-Benz interior, but the CLS is right up and beyond the mid-sized sedan, with a much more elegant look and a more solid feel to the controls.

Even the woodgrain panels are impressive, though one generated an annoying reflection in sunlight. But that’s typical of the CLS. You find only tiny things to criticise.

Lined up against a BMW Six, it’s not nearly as macho or eager on a winding road, but is far more practical.

We like it. It’s another winner.

- The Daily Telegraph