Toddler dies after being left in hot van - 'criminal charges to be filed' against Daycare Center

The Dallas Morning News ^ | June 3, 2003 | By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News

[MeekOneGOP]

Toddler dies after being left in hot van

06/03/2003

By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News

A 2-year-old left inside a hot daycare van in Lancaster for more than two hours on Friday died early Tuesday.

The boy, whose name has not yet been released, had been in critical condition at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. He died about 12:15 a.m., hospital officials said.

Police said the boy and nine other children had returned from a field trip to a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant about 1 p.m. Workers realized that he was still strapped in a car seat inside the van about 3:25 p.m. and called 911. Temperatures topped 100 degrees Friday afternoon.

Representatives for the Little Dudes and Daisies Daycare and Learning Center on North Dallas Avenue could not be reached for comment.

Lancaster police have scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon to announce criminal charges to be filed in the case.

The Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, the agency that regulates daycares, is also investigating.

“[Police] are evaluating the incident,” said Stacey Ladd, a department spokeswoman. “Mostly, we’re evaluating the safety of the children. Obviously, we’re working closely together.”

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/060303dnmettotdies.804ccad3.html

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

With all due respect, not all daycare places hire minimum wage "thugs". Furthermore, children go to school at the age of five. Are these schools "disease infested" warehouses too?

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

><> Divorce is not rare-- 50% of marriages end in divorce! And most of them are initiated by the woman. <><

And why do you think that is??? Because she WANTS to put her kids in daycare and struggle to live??

Chances are the women are initiating it to be free of SORRY men. Men who run off and leave them -- oh, but won't initiate the divorce. Men who REFUSE to step up and support their families. Men who cheat regularly, bring home diseases to their wives. Men who won't work OR stay home and be a father.

Most men who run from their responsibility, ARENT responsible enough to initiate the divorce themself .. so who does it? The woman who has been dumped on, and needs to go on with her life with her children.

No, it might not be physical abuse, but most of the couples I know that are divorcing is because the man refuses to step up and take responsibility .. ANY responsibility, OR has left.

I think divorce in our society is a symptom of much more than greedy women.

[Under the Radar]

Yes, you are right, a woman who has children and has never been married is in exactly the same situation as one who was married and her husband died. You bet, I want my tax dollars and my charitable donations to go to both groups equally. In fact, why bother with all that BS marriage stuff anyway, since you are going to end up in the same place in the end? Heck, let's do away with marriage completely, we can all put our kids in daycare from day one and just take turns raising each others children in our workers' paradise.

Pathetic.

[riri]

My point is the whole idea of waiting to have children that late should be so that you are better able financially to care for them. And in some instances you do see that.

However, I would say more and more frequently you see people who didn't start actually considering themselves adults until about 25. Then spent, spent and spent, realized despite all the Tommy Hilfiger serving dishes and Ralph Lauren sheets they own, something was missing. The bio clock was running out and decide to have kids.

So, they have a bunch of crap to pay for and a lifestyle they are accustomed to. Baby comes and after the novelty wears off-they want to go back to work to resume previous lifestyle. I see it all the time.

[RMDupree]

Most divorces are initiated by women, not men.

Hmmmm. I wonder why that is?

Could it be because in these cases the man can do whatever he wants, leaving the mom to raise the kids alone anyway, without the court-ordered child support?

Not in all cases, but there are guys out there that will cheat on their wives, go out all the time, live the "single" lifestyle while mom raises the kids and those men will NEVER file for divorce simply because they don't want to pay to play.

[annyokie]

You are wrong there. I know Stanz and she DID NOT make that choice out of whim.

[Corin Stormhands]

Furthermore, children go to school at the age of five.

Ruh Roh! Now you done it. You're gonna get the homeschoolers riled up...

[Under the Radar]

Hopefully that means you'll stop babbling.

Funny, you didn't stop with post #47.

[Wneighbor]

Girl, you have a supporter here. I can definitely be a shoulder if you need one. Life isn't as cut and dried and pretty as folks like to think it is. And some of us have to learn to just trust in God and make the best of everything. You just keep your chin up and keep plugging.

[ErnBatavia]

OnStar commercial

Goes to show how low-tech I am! I always thought On Star was something you had to be inside the car to use...

[mombonn]

The mother of this child certainly deserves a big share of the blame - the child was HER responsibility

Shame on you for piling on a grieving mother. She did NOT leave the child in the van.

You don't know her circumstances - her husband could have abandoned the family, as mine did when the kids were 2 and 5.

The father could be dead or in the military.

Shame on you.

[RomanCatholicProlifer]

stop picking up chicks on FR

[RMDupree]

I know those kind of women too, unfortunately. Their careers come first, kids second.

They like to drive the new car, live in the big house, etc - at the expense of their kids.

I am outraged that some on this thread want to lump all working moms in that stereotype.

[stanz]

You can't generalize and quote statistics. There are many people out there - - married couples who abuse their kids and don't deserve to have them just as there are plenty of decent women raising children alone who have to work to put food on the table and pay rent. And I don't agree with your attitude that women are always to blame for everything. Marriages fail for hundreds of reasons not the least of which are deadbeat couchpotato husbands. Women are better off without them.

[annyokie]

Many families live a cash existence due to low income or poor credit history. How do you buy a new hot water heater when you don't have more than the price of a tank of gas in your checking account?

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

What the hell do you know?

[Corin Stormhands]

Nice job with the HTML, even if you did plagiarize my post.

You're still way off base.

[HamiltonJay]

At one point in my life I might have agreed with you, but after living briefly in an area where property prices and rental prices were beyond any reasonable cost, I cannot blanketly agree with those statements. There are areas of this country where even a decent job will not provide enough income for a family... of course my personal response to that is get out of that area, but not everyone has that option either.

There are always circumstances, however I think many have lost the abilty to differentiate between "need" and want. How can you claim 1 income wouldn't be enough to live off of, when cable TV and Cell phone are considered NECCESSARY ITEMS???

I agree the tax structure sucks, and it hurts families, but many many women work by choice, not need.

[LizardQueen]

Save yourself on the Bondo, just get some aluminum or metallic tape :)

I used window screening. What a nuisance. The Bondo kept squishing through the holes and puddling up behind it. It doesn't look bad now, though - the cheapo $5 can of black spray paint I bought turned out to exactly match the color ::lol::. It's a bit lumpy, though......

And I understand you, too - people need to examine their finances and act in their childs best interest, not in their own. Once the kids come along, their welfare must become the prime consideration. Kids need time with their parents first and foremost, more than they need the newest Nintendo etc.

But I have problems with the frequent blanket statements here about who needs to work and who doesn't. Without asking for a bank statement from each couple for whom this issue comes up, I don't see how any of us can tell which group they genuinely fall into.

LQ

[Under the Radar]

You are wrong there. I know Stanz and she DID NOT make that choice out of whim.

We weren't discussing Stanz. She asked "Do you suppose that many women choose to raise a child alone?" and I answered her question.