Plan B Forum

Baby dies after being left in hot car in Fresno
By The Associated Press 10:29 a.m.June 9, 2013

FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno authorities say a baby boy died of heat exposure after he was unintentionally left in a car for an hour as the temperature reached 101 degrees.

The Fresno Fire Department said Saturday the 15-month-old was left inside the vehicle outside his family's home in southwest Fresno on Friday evening. The rest of the family had taken groceries out of the car and went into the house, believing the boy was with his father.

The Fresno Bee reports a female bystander performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the baby before paramedics arrived. The boy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police say no wrongdoing was found in the incident, calling it a tragic accident.

Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com

The Associated Press

Why does this happen so often?

Police say no wrongdoing was found in the incident

There is no offense entitled "criminally negligent homicide" in California.

Involuntary manslaughter, killing someone by committing a misdemeanor, or through recklessness, is punishable by up to four years in prison.

Police said there were numerous children in the vehicle, including a 2-week-old newborn. The family got out of the car with groceries and went into the house, thinking the infant was with the dad, police said.

The mother, who just had C-section surgery, laid down, then woke up trying to find the child. The boy was taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/06/08/333 ... rylink=cpy

Lord Jim wrote:Let me give the police a hand here:

There is no offense entitled "criminally negligent homicide" in California.

Involuntary manslaughter, killing someone by committing a misdemeanor, or through recklessness, is punishable by up to four years in prison.

http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/sente ... 02686.html

That doesn't seem really adequate, but any charge is better than none.

Crackpot wrote:Society

dales wrote:Yes,something similar a seat belt not fastened when there is weight on the seat cushion.

Cost = less than 50 cents per vehicle.

dales wrote:From Joe Guy's URL:

"...
The mother, who just had C-section surgery, laid down, then woke up trying to find the child. ... "

Mandatory steralization should be the order of the day.

Sue U wrote:

Lord Jim wrote:Let me give the police a hand here:

There is no offense entitled "criminally negligent homicide" in California.

Involuntary manslaughter, killing someone by committing a misdemeanor, or through recklessness, is punishable by up to four years in prison.

http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/sente ... 02686.html

That doesn't seem really adequate, but any charge is better than none.

There's no evidence of recklessness in this story, much less the mens rea ("guilty mind," or subjective element of culpability) required for a criminal charge. Recklessness generally requires a conscious disregard for the safety of others. Here, no one deliberately ignored the child or was indifferent to his circumstances. This is a pretty straightforward case of ordinary negligence, with heart-breakingly tragic results. Under these circumstances, why should the state demand some further punishment, and of whom?

rubato wrote:How often is it?

Long Run wrote:

rubato wrote:How often is it?

Heard a radio PSA warning about leaving kids in a car on hot days and it said about 580 kids have died in this way over the past 15 years.