Another loss - why can't people learn

[janette]

Boy forgotten in hot vehicle found dead

08:59 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 20, 2003

By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News

DUNCANVILLE – An 8-month-old boy who spent most of the day in the back of a Chevrolet Suburban after being forgotten by a day-care center driver was found dead Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The boy's death was the second in three months in which a child under the care of day-care workers has died in a hot vehicle.

Officials of T&T Tots Day Care & Learning Center in the Red Bird area of Dallas called the driver to tell him that the boy had not been dropped off at the day-care center after being picked up at his home at 7:30 a.m., Dallas police said.

At 2:30 p.m., the boy's grandmother went to the day-care center to pick up the child, who was not there.

The driver discovered the boy about 3:30 p.m. while he was parked at Central Elementary School in Duncanville, waiting to pick up other children.

"The grandmother this afternoon went to the day care to pick the child up, and the child was missing," said Dallas police Sgt. Hollis Edwards. "From there, someone from the day care called the driver, and that's when the child was found. He turned himself in to Duncanville police."

The driver, whose name was not released by police, flagged down a passing patrol car and told an officer that there was a child who was not breathing in the back of his vehicle.

Tonya Scott of Duncanville said she was picking up her niece and nephew at the school when the man realized that the baby was in the back of his vehicle. She said the man was frantic.

"He was totally disturbed, totally disturbed," Ms. Scott said. "He was hitting his head on the concrete, rolling around on the ground. They had to calm him down."

Ms. Scott said she and another woman tried to perform CPR on the child, but it was too late.

Crime scene investigators were collecting evidence from the vehicle late Wednesday. The Dallas County medical examiner pronounced the child dead at the scene and will perform an autopsy.

Temperatures hit 90 degrees across the Dallas area by 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. The day's high at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was 99 degrees, set about 4:15 p.m.

At Executive Airport in Dallas, temperatures were slightly lower, but the heat index was a consistent 102 to 103 degrees across the region. A heat advisory is in effect until Thursday evening.

On May 30, Alan Devon Brown was left in a day-care van for two hours before workers realized he was missing. He died four days later.

Two workers and a dozen children at Little Dudes and Daisies Daycare and Learning Center in Lancaster were returning from a trip to a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant when 2-year-old Alan was left in the van on a day when the temperature hit 100 degrees. The center has since closed. Day-care director Onetha Kizzee Conners, 48, and employee Jimmie Ree Smith, 42, were indicted Tuesday on injury to a child charges.

In July, Mafi Manu died July 11 in her family's unlocked minivan as temperatures hit 96 degrees and heat indexes topped 102. The minivan was parked outside the Hurst family's home. No charges were filed in the incident, in which police determined that the girl had climbed into the vehicle.

The Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services' child-care licensing division, which regulates day-care centers, will begin an investigation of the Duncanville incident Thursday, said Marleigh Meisner, an agency spokeswoman.

T&T Tots Day Care & Learning Center was first licensed in 1996. In 2002 and 2003 inspections, investigators found several violations. Most were related to record keeping, and none pertained directly to supervision.

Officials warned anyone taking care of children to be careful in the heat.

"Count how many kids you've got going in, count how many kids that go out, double-check. Do everything you can to be sure that you've got everyone out of that vehicle," said Duncanville city spokesman Keith Bilbrey. "It's very dangerous. ... It can reach extreme temperatures inside the vehicle."

Terrill Streetman, executive director of Kids In Cars, said deaths in hot cars are completely avoidable. The nonprofit agency based in Missouri works to educate people about the dangers of leaving children alone in and around cars. So far this year, he said, about 35 children have died in hot cars. Despite well-publicized incidents, parents and caregivers still leave children inside vehicles.

"I think it's a lack of knowledge," Mr. Streetman said. "The vehicle acts as an oven, and temperatures rise quickly. A lot of people don't realize that children's systems can't dissipate the heat like an adult's."

Staff writers Jaime Jordan, Terri Langford and Ian McCann contributed to this report.

 

[RitaZ.]

How tragic... How many times will this happen?

 

[browneyes]

There was a case in my area last month. There was lady that ran a daycare. She took the kids somewhere on the daycare van. She forgot to get one off, and the heat was near 100 that day. It was her own child she left in that van that died.

Why do people do stupid stuff?

 

[Nutsy]

That is so sad, it happens everywhere too.

We've had an incident over here where a Mother left her child in the car while she went to play to pokies & of course the end result being.............child does not survive.

When on earth will people take more care

 

[Samandmom]

I can't understand how people forget children in the car. This is very sad.

 

[Minniespal]

Very sad ~ Why do people never learn.

 

[Micca]

I just don't understand. It's so avoidable, and it makes me sick

 

[UrsulasDaBomb]

I was shocked to see this on the news last night. I couldn't believe it. The second time this summer in this area! How stupid can people be? I mean really? This really annoys me that people can be THIS stupid to leave th eir kids in a hot car on a summer's day in TEXAS where it regularly reaches over 100 degrees! Geez people get on the danged clue bus for once in your stupid lives!


Sorry...it just really upsets me when this happens.


Gayle(UDB)

 

[Princess_Aurora]

I saw this news live as it was happening and immediately burst into tears and started sobbing. I HATE hearing these stories. Your mind starts wondering what the poor baby must have gone through? Did he suffer very long? How loud did he cry? Why didn't anyone notice him being gone? It just makes me cry. And why is it so hard to look and see if there are no kids in the car??? I mean, I do it even when I KNOW I left the kids at home. I just have this irrational fear that maybe one of them secretly crawled into the car without me knowing it. It's not like it's so hard. Just a quick look and it takes like literally one second. How hard is that?

Another guy did it today too, but his grandchild was lucky. Apparently some old man left his grandson in the car today while he went to into the store. A passer-by noticed the baby in the car by himself and called 9-11. Just as they were about to break into the car the man came and unlocked it. They didn't say whether they would be filing charges against him or not. To me, this is even dumber than accidently forgetting your kid. It's like they say, "I'm just gonna run in real quick, no problem." Do they not realize when it's 100+ degrees outside, the second you turn off that AC you're literally baking. In like 5 minutes they inside car temperature will be hotter than the outside temperature. It happens that quick. If fact, I remember an experiment that one of the local news channels did a couple of years ago with cookie dough. The cookies were cooked in about 15 minutes.

 

[Banshee]

This is terrible There is really no excuse for it this is a human life!! There was a case in Philly were a grandfather would pick his 2 year old granddaughter up in the morning and drive her to day care. Well one day he picked her up forgot she was in the car and 8 hours later she was found curled up on the floor of the car and here in jersey a woman dropped her kids off at school and forgot her 6 month old baby in the car and she didnt realize it until about 2 in the afternoon when he hadnt woken up from his morning nap!!! I ALWAYS LOCK my doors no matter were I go and at home just so dont have to worry about my children or some one else's children climbing into my car! Very sad I wish people would learn that a car is no place to leave your kids. Or anyone else's kids!!! or dogs!

 

[BCVOwner2002]

This just happened in MA today except no word yet on the fate of the infant. Annmarie

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I just don't get this. Or the backing over your own child .

As far as my kids go, my car never moves unless I know exactly where they are. If they are in the car with me, they are fastened in. If not, they are in the house or being held by dad.

I cannot imagine forgetting my child in my car. Yes, I have left my purse in my car, but never my kid!!!

 

[Claudia1]

There was a tragedy recently in Indy when a father backed over his 3-yr old son, twice. His advice to other parents, "Be sure to walk your kids to the door so it doesn't happen to you."

Hello!!!!! This was a 3-yr old child being returned to his mother after a visitation. Why was a 3-yr old walking up to the door by himself and why didn't the Dad make sure he was in the house before he left?

Those poor kids.....

 

[Deb in IA]