Tot dies in hot car after dad forgets to stop at daycare
A Texas father says he “just totally forgot” to drop off his toddler son at daycare and instead left him in a hot car while he spent the day at work.
Kesen Hu, 34, went to his job at PayPal in the Austin, Tex., area at 9:20 a.m. last Wednesday, and seven hours later, returned to the car, where he found his son dead. Eighteen-month-old Daniel had died of hyperthermia, police said.
Now authorities are arguing over whether Hu should be charged. Police told the Austin-American Statesman that the investigation had not been finished, but that the district attorney wanted to quick action. Hu has now been charged with felony child endangerment. District Attorney John Bradley said that he wanted to send a message about child safety.
So far this year, 28 kids have died from heat stroke or hyperthermia after being left in hot cars.
Baby dies after parents forget her in hot car
Three-month-old Elle Runnion was left in a hot car for more than seven hours on Thursday in Kansas, where temperatures reached into the 90s. Her parents had accidently forgotten about her when they parked outside a business, the Salina Journal reported. Additional details were unavailable.
At least one child has died of hyperthermia or heat stroke each week since June.
Another child dies after being forgotten in car outside daycare
Daniel Slutsky became the second child this week to die in a hot vehicle after being accidently left behind by a day care worker.
Daniel, 2, was forgotten for 6 and a half hours in a car with the windows rolled up outside a daycare center in suburban Philadelphia. Rimma Shuartsman, the operator of Fairy Tales Day Care and also his neighbor, had been taking the boy to the facility three times a week since September, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. But on Wednesday morning, she apparently forgot to take him out of his car seat.
Daniel died of hyperthermia. The high temperature was only 83 degrees, but that’s enough to turn a locked car into an oven. Police are investigating and haven’t made a decision on whether to charge Shuartsman.
Toddler dies after parents forget her in hot car
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem possible for one week to pass this summer without a child dying of heat exhaustion or hyperthermia in a hot car.
A 23-month-old girl was left strapped in her car seat in front of her family’s home in suburban Baltimore for more than eight hours on Saturday. Police said a change of routine caused the parents to forget about the child, but didn’t specify details, the Baltimore Sun reported. The parents, who were not publicly identified, will not be charged in the incident, police said.
Mom arrested for leaving baby in hot car
The 11-month-old boy was left in a hot car in a supermarket parking lot as temperatures reached 100 degrees on Saturday, police said. An employee at the HEB supermarket in Killeen, Tex., spotted the child and called 911. Firefighters broke open a car window to rescue the baby, who looked dazed from the heat, KXXV TV News reported.
The child had been left in the car for at least 17 minutes, authorities said. The mother, Sarah Lowelle Traylor, was arrested and charged with child abandonment.
Senior firefighter Robert Arrendo told KXXV that young children are more at risk to hyperthermia because they “have a smaller amount of fluid that their body can hold, so them sweating just like we would would cause them going into a type of shock.”
Toddler dies after babysitter forgets him in hot car
The babysitter had taken other kids into a store with her on Wednesday, but forgot about the 2-year-old boy in her truck. Two hours later, Shantel Wilcher returned and apparently discovered little Bernard Davis unconscious, police said. He was later pronounced dead of hyperthermia. The high temperature in Jacksonville, Fla., was about 90 degrees.
Bernard’s family told reporters that they want Wilcher, 38, charged with murder. So far, police have only charged her with running a daycare without a license, a misdemeanor, the Florida Times-Union reported. Police said the investigation is continuing.
Wilcher had been caring for Bernard and his 3-year-old brother for the past four months, while their mother attended school. On Wednesday, Wilcher had taken Bernard’s brother and her two teenagers into the store with her.
Baby dies after being forgotten in car
The child’s father was supposed to drop him off at a babysitter’s, but instead drove to a subway station in the San Francisco Bay Area and left him behind in the car all day. Everett Carey was found by his mother after she found out that he never made it to the babysitter’s, police said.
The four-month-old boy was discovered unconscious inside his dad’s 2006 Chrysler at the El Cerrito Plaza Bart Station and died shortly afterwards at the hospital on Monday night, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Police are investigating, and it’s not clear whether the father will face criminal charges. The high temperature on Monday in El Cerrito was 65 degrees, but it would have been much hotter in the car, with the windows rolled up.
An estimated 36 kids die each year after being trapped in overheated cars. The majority are left behind accidently by their parents or caretakers. Summer is the most deadly time.
The Chronicle listed tips from authorities to help caretakers remember to check on a child in the backseat:
– Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat and place it in the front seat as a reminder whenever the child is in back.
– Always place something in the backseat — such as a purse, lunch bag or windshield sunshade — that requires you to open the back door every time you park.
– Ask your child care provider to call you or other emergency contacts within a short period if the child does not arrive.
Mom arrested for leaving toddlers in car while shopping
Sure, it’s easier to shop without the kids. But that’s no excuse to leave them in the car.
A Long Island mom shopped at a Costco for at least 45 minutes on Tuesday while her twin toddler were left in their car seats with the doors locked and the engine running, police said. One of the kids has Down Syndrome. A police officer broke a car door window to rescue the kids, ages 2 and a half, Newsday reported.
When Lynn Hoenig, 40, returned to her car, she was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She was lucky. Her kids weren’t hurt. Other children left in cars have died from hyperthermia.
Daycare driver charged in baby’s death
Precious “Fitz” Marney is accused of leaving a 4-month-old boy alone in the daycare van, where he died from the heat exposure. The child had left been left in the van outside the Bumble Bee Learning Center in Milwaukee for about four hours last week. Temperatures inside the vehicle registered more than 102 degrees, authorities said.
Jalen Knox-Perkins had been put in a car seat directly behind the driver, according to police. But Marney apparently parked the van and went inside the daycare, forgetting about Jalen. The baby was Marney’s last “pickup” of the morning. Marney was charged this week and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The daycare center has been closed pending a state investigation.
“I know he’s sorry, but that’s not going to bring Jalen back,” Jalen’s grandmother Remona Williams told WISN TV News. Leaving kids in a vehicle unfortunately is becoming a more common tragic mistake. Read about other hyperthermia cases here.
Daycare owner charged in child’s death from sun exposure
Judy Harper, owner of a North Carolina daycare center, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of a 17-month-old, according to MSNBC.
Police responded to a call around 3 p.m. last Monday from the center; the boy had stopped breathing and was bleeding from his nose and mouth. He later died at Alamance Regional Hospital.
A preliminary investigation found that the child had died of hyperthermia – commonly known as heat stroke or sunstroke. Authorities shut down Palmer-Leigh Small World Daycare in Haw River last Tuesday.