Canadians help out Lucio Blanco victims

LUCIO BLANCO, Mexico - A 10-year-old boy who suffered severe burns from a butane tanker explosion four years ago is getting help from people all over Canada.

Bob Moffatt, who comes from the logging and retirement community of Atikokan, Ontario, has been providing moral and financial support to Angel Izaguirre and his family since soon after the Aug. 11, 2005, accident.

But on his 80th birthday, which he celebrated last August, Moffatt held a party attended by more than 250 people from all over Canada. A collection to help Angel took place, which netted about $900.

With the money, Moffatt and some of his relatives were able to buy a state-of-the-art stroller for Angel, a water heater and a few other things that are now providing comfort for the boy and his family.

"I think they need help and this is something I have always done," Moffatt said about his determination to help others. "I was raised in the '30s, so I know about some of the hardships in life."

Susan Jennings, a U.S.-Canadian citizen who also has been helping Angel and his family, described the stroller as the Cadillac of the stroller industry.

She looked in a number of catalogs and consulted with people she knows to come up with the right stroller so the boy's family can take him to places without the trip being too cumbersome.

Despite its size, the stroller folds so it can fit into a car's trunk, has a large covered area and can be maneuvered with ease.

Jennings said they had to find a stroller large enough to keep up with the boy's growth.

Angel suffered severe burns to his head and other parts of his body when a truck hauling two tanks filled with butane collided with a train at an ungated railroad crossing here, causing a huge ball of fire.

The accident left a path of death and destruction in this small farming community about 10 miles south of the Free Trade International Bridge near Los Indios.

About eight people were killed and a number of roadside stalls were destroyed.

Angel has been confined to a bed ever since and has been getting therapy in Matamoros, Monterrey and San Luis Potosi.

His mother, Alejandra de Leon, said she is grateful for the help her family is getting from the Canadian.

"I can't find the right words to express my gratitude," she said. "But I would like to thank them from the bottom of our hearts."

Moffatt said he will continue helping the boy and his family for as long as he is able and also thanks his fellow Canadians for helping.

Among them are Bill and Sue Maydo, out of Thunder Bay, and Ron and Sally Speck, who are also from Atikokan.

"You have to a have a heart," Maydo, a retired police officer, said. "If I see somebody on the side on the road with car problems, I pull over and try to help out."