~What Do You Think About Those 3 Boys In NJ?~

[disneysteve]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6555449/

Just for some perspective on why I questioned leaving the children unattended, Camden was recently ranked as the most dangerous city in America. Unlike rural areas where some of you live and feel perfectly safe, Camden is a drug-ridden, crime-ridden, poverty-stricken area. Leaving 3 young children playing out on the street alone just isn't a good idea, even in a fenced-in yard (which I don't think this was). This is an area where people lock their doors and bar their windows. This is an area where adults are afraid to leave their homes after dark (and even during the day in certain parts of the city). Should the police have searched the trunk? Absolutely, and I fully support any investigation into why that didn't occur. But the whole tragic incident should never have happened in the first place. I don't believe calling this an "accident" is really appropriate. In my mind, its like calling it an accident when a child drowns after being left alone in the family pool. Our children are precious and vulnerable. They need us to protect them. We can't do that if we aren't supervising them.

 

[CookieGVB]

My big question was - why no Amber Alert?

I'd hate to think it was because they live in a poor area of NJ.

 

[Blondy876]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6555449/

Just for some perspective on why I questioned leaving the children unattended, Camden was recently ranked as the most dangerous city in America. Unlike rural areas where some of you live and feel perfectly safe, Camden is a drug-ridden, crime-ridden, poverty-stricken area. Leaving 3 young children playing out on the street alone just isn't a good idea, even in a fenced-in yard (which I don't think this was). This is an area where people lock their doors and bar their windows. This is an area where adults are afraid to leave their homes after dark (and even during the day in certain parts of the city). Should the police have searched the trunk? Absolutely, and I fully support any investigation into why that didn't occur. But the whole tragic incident should never have happened in the first place. I don't believe calling this an "accident" is really appropriate. In my mind, its like calling it an accident when a child drowns after being left alone in the family pool. Our children are precious and vulnerable. They need us to protect them. We can't do that if we aren't supervising them.

I would still call it an accident but I agree that they should never have been left alone in Camden. I took some of my grad classes in Camden and actually had a police escort to and from the building the class was held in. I don't understand why, if you feel the need to put bars on your windows, would anyone feel like it is OK to allow their kids outside alone?

My big question was - why no Amber Alert?

I'd hate to think it was because they live in a poor area of NJ.

I could be wrong but I thought Amber Alerts were only issued when abduction was obvious and they have a description of the car and/or the abductor. They didn't have any of that with this situation.

 

[always quiet]

Another thing that makes me even more confused. The police bought in K-9 units. The dog tracked the kids DOWN TO THE RIVER but wasn't able to get the scent on the car???

I seem to remember a local channel saying that they didn't call the Amber Alert because this wasn't the first time the kids went missing....gee, if one of mine wandered off one time, not only would they be severely punished (they wouldn't see the light of day for quite some time), but I would make certain that I never left them alone!!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

sounds like there is plenty of possibl blame here
teh kids should not have been left alone in 1st place
the cops should have checked the trunk, but so should have the families and any of the people who volunteered in the search
its an awful tragedy
god bless those little boys and hope that there families will someday have some sort of peace

 

[lsyorke]

Another thing that makes me even more confused. The police bought in K-9 units. The dog tracked the kids DOWN TO THE RIVER but wasn't able to get the scent on the car???

I seem to remember a local channel saying that they didn't call the Amber Alert because this wasn't the first time the kids went missing....gee, if one of mine wandered off one time, not only would they be severely punished (they wouldn't see the light of day for quite some time), but I would make certain that I never left them alone!!

I too live in NJ. There was a report that there was a bag of cement in the trunk that had broken. This powder may have covered up any scent that the dogs would have been able to pick up. The "river" scent may have been accurate if the kids had been there recently, which is very possible.

 

[officer tigger]

A dog doing a search picks up the most recent scent that is available. The more people that are walking around just confuses the dog. With all the family and others walking around a track from the house is hard to do.

 

[Saffron]

A police officer! What say you about the police not checking the trunk of the car? What is the policy for your department?

While some of you may never want to step foot in Camden, for those that live there, it's no different than living in your rural neighborhoods where you feel perfectly safe. You learn to live where you live. They may roll the sidewalks up at night and pull the bars down ... OR ... they may not. Because of the level of poverty in most urban areas, Camden being one of the most poverty stricken areas around here that I can think of, urban children play the old fashioned way ... without video games, DVD's etc., they play outside. Urban areas such as Camden may scare the daylights out of some of you, but to those that live there it's home sweet home, no different than yours. The woman obviously felt safe letting her kids play outside, as some of you do in your neighborhoods. Maybe she could have been more vigalent, maybe she was, maybe we don't know every little detail of what happened that day. It's an accident, a very tragic one. Accidents are just that, things that happen, without intent.


< --- Protection from flaming .

 

[CookieGVB]

^
What she said.

 

[lajones81]

Honestly, stories like this and the other ones on the news lately make me scared to have kids! I can teach them during the day and, then, send them on their way, but I still get freaked out during winter and spring break thinking if they are ok! Oh, goodness...I'm getting myself all worked up...

 

[LisaNJ25]

My big question was - why no Amber Alert?

I'd hate to think it was because they live in a poor area of NJ.

You would have to have a description of the car for an amber alert.

 

[disneysteve]

Urban areas such as Camden may scare the daylights out of some of you, but to those that live there it's home sweet home, no different than yours. The woman obviously felt safe letting her kids play outside, as some of you do in your neighborhoods. Maybe she could have been more vigalent, maybe she was, maybe we don't know every little detail of what happened that day.

You're right. In this case, it seems, the fact that it was Camden really had little to do with the story. Apparently, there was a parent watching the kids. As we hear so often in cases like this, she went inside "just for a minute" to talk to a friend who was visiting. When she came back out, the kids were gone. The fact that they decided to go play in the trunk and got themselves locked in could have happened in Beverly Hills the same as in Camden. The problem was they were left unattended which gave them the opportunity to do this. Another problem was that the police were not called until the kids had been missing for 3-1/2 hours (by which time they were probably already dead).

 

[Saffron]

All I care about is that you said I'm right!

LOL!

It is a horrible, horrible accident. We can question the whys, whens, hows, why nots forever more. We don't walk in her or the family's moccasins. I just think it's sad, very sad.

 

[dis_danny]

From today's Camden Courier-Post:

"Only days after three children were found dead in the trunk of a car, the parents of one of the victims hired an attorney to determine if Camden police and the Toyota Motor Corp. were negligent.

Attorney Peter Villari said on Tuesday that the Camden Police Department and the carmaker will be targets of his investigation. He represents the Cruz family, whose son, Anibal "Juni" Cruz, 11, was among the three who died while trapped in the trunk. Cruz's mother, Elba, watched the children play in the yard of her Bergen Avenue home. But she did not see them climb into the trunk of the Toyota.

The Cruz family is not responsible for the death of the children, said Villari."​

Sorry, but I don't see the reasoning here. Wasn't the person who parked the car on this vacant lot and then left it unlocked allowing the boys access to the interior and the trunk negligent? Wasn't the adult who was supposed to be watching the children while playing negligent? Wasn't the person who waited over 3 hours to call for police assistance negligent? How can the family claim no responsibility in this case? It's truly mind-boggling.

These families right now have my most sincere sympathy for the loss of their precious children, but not if they try to turn this tragedy into a financial windfall.

 

[Laurajean1014]

This is one of the 7 levels of grieving.

I do not blame anyone. I am just sadden by this accident.

 

[Keli]

You know, sometimes people blame others when a tragedy like this occurs and down deep they just have to know they are wrong. My dh's cousin died from a drug overdose. He had been pulled over for a driving offense and put the drugs in his mouth to hide them. He was apparently trying to hold them in the back of his mouth until the officer walked away (eight balls? I have no idea what kind of drugs those are?). After a few minutes he had digested enough of the drugs to start acting oddly. The officer began questioning the woman with him, asking if he had taken any drugs or anything and she's denying it the whole time. Dh's cousin goes into convulsions. The officer calls an ambulance but dh's cousin died almost as soon as he got to ER. And guess who the mother (a RN for many, many years) blames? The ER staff! She thought they didn't take the call seriously enough because it was 'just another druggie'. I can't believe that she thinks anyone besides her ds and the woman with him were at fault. And from a medical standpoint I don't know how she thinks the ER staff could have saved him at that point. Actually I don't believe in her heart of hearts she does think anyone else is to blame but it's just too hard for her to say that her ds caused his own death.

 

[LisaNJ25]

From today's Camden Courier-Post:

"Only days after three children were found dead in the trunk of a car, the parents of one of the victims hired an attorney to determine if Camden police and the Toyota Motor Corp. were negligent.

Attorney Peter Villari said on Tuesday that the Camden Police Department and the carmaker will be targets of his investigation. He represents the Cruz family, whose son, Anibal "Juni" Cruz, 11, was among the three who died while trapped in the trunk. Cruz's mother, Elba, watched the children play in the yard of her Bergen Avenue home. But she did not see them climb into the trunk of the Toyota.

The Cruz family is not responsible for the death of the children, said Villari."​

Sorry, but I don't see the reasoning here. Wasn't the person who parked the car on this vacant lot and then left it unlocked allowing the boys access to the interior and the trunk negligent? Wasn't the adult who was supposed to be watching the children while playing negligent? Wasn't the person who waited over 3 hours to call for police assistance negligent? How can the family claim no responsibility in this case? It's truly mind-boggling.

These families right now have my most sincere sympathy for the loss of their precious children, but not if they try to turn this tragedy into a financial windfall.

I agree with you 100% dis_danny. It also comes down to personal responsiblility which people dont seem to take these days. It was a tragic accident and as a mom of 4 I can't imagine what they are going through. What what I have heard is in as little as 1 hour in than truck and they could of been dead. That car didnt look big and imagine 3 kids in the trunk. Not much room left.

 

[frndshpcptn]

This really bothers me. While I feel sorry for thier loos, to think about sueing the car manufactuer because you weren't paying enough attention to where your kid was playing really shows just how our concept of personal responsibility has become in this society.

Own up to your mistakes. We'd be a lot better off if more people did this.

 

[disneysteve]

From today's Camden Courier-Post:

"Only days after three children were found dead in the trunk of a car, the parents of one of the victims hired an attorney to determine if Camden police and the Toyota Motor Corp. were negligent.​

How could Toyota possibly be negligent? There was no regulation requiring inside trunk releases. AND THE TRUNK WAS BROKEN. The hydraulic thing that keeps the lid up was busted. Wouldn't it be the owner's responsibility to repair that? It is just insane that any lawyer would accept this case.​

 

[disneyworld!]

From today's Camden Courier-Post:

"Only days after three children were found dead in the trunk of a car, the parents of one of the victims hired an attorney to determine if Camden police and the Toyota Motor Corp. were negligent.

Attorney Peter Villari said on Tuesday that the Camden Police Department and the carmaker will be targets of his investigation. He represents the Cruz family, whose son, Anibal "Juni" Cruz, 11, was among the three who died while trapped in the trunk. Cruz's mother, Elba, watched the children play in the yard of her Bergen Avenue home. But she did not see them climb into the trunk of the Toyota.

The Cruz family is not responsible for the death of the children, said Villari."​

Sorry, but I don't see the reasoning here. Wasn't the person who parked the car on this vacant lot and then left it unlocked allowing the boys access to the interior and the trunk negligent? Wasn't the adult who was supposed to be watching the children while playing negligent? Wasn't the person who waited over 3 hours to call for police assistance negligent? How can the family claim no responsibility in this case? It's truly mind-boggling.

These families right now have my most sincere sympathy for the loss of their precious children, but not if they try to turn this tragedy into a financial windfall.

yep, I was waiting for that one. gee, if it were my kid , I would be to busy mourning them instead of hiring a lawyer!!!!that is just sad!