MCSO: Falling gate crushes 2-year-old boy in Laveen

LAVEEN, AZ - Authorities say a 2-year-old boy has died after he was crushed by an iron gate.

Maricopa County Sheriff's spokesman Jeff Sprong said the accident happened at a home near 51st Avenue and Dobbins Road in Laveen around 10:45 a.m Saturday morning.

Sprong said the boy's uncle was doing yard work and removed the clamps to open the heavy gate.

"He and his uncle were picking weeds, doing a man's job, when a gust of wind blew the gate down and crushed my baby. 500 pounds crushed my baby," said the boy's father Santiago Castro.

The boy was taken to Phoenix Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Sprong said.

"It was the worse thing that could happen in my life. Watching doctors work on my son knowing that he was already dead," said the boy's mom Brenda Nelson.

Sprong said the incident is being investigated as an accident.

If you are interested in donating, the family has set up an account at Chase Bank under the Brenda Nelson fund.

The money will help pay for the cost of the funeral.