Why does this happen so often?

[Joe Guy]

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

[Lord Jim]

Why does this happen so often?

Because there are too many people around who are dumber than dirt, and there's no minimum intelligence requirement for having kids...

Police say no wrongdoing was found in the incident

[dales]

Eugenics, anyone?

[Lord Jim]

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.

[dales]

From Joe Guy's URL:

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

Mandatory steralization should be the order of the day.

[rubato]

How often is it?

yrs,
rubato

[Joe Guy]

Too often.

[Sue U]

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?

[Crackpot]

Society

[oldr_n_wsr]

I think there should be a law forcing car manufacturers to put in some kind of detection system that will alert the driver that someone was left in the vehicle.

[dales]

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

Cost = less than 50 cents per vehicle.

[Joe Guy]

Something should be done. Apparently, telling parents to never assume someone else is taking care of your baby doesn't work.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Society

Man: All right, it's a fair cop, but society's to blame.
Church Policeman: Right, we'll arrest them instead

[Jarlaxle]

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

Cost = less than 50 cents per vehicle.

Time to disable the tenth time the bag of groceries on the seat sets off the fucking buzzer: about ten seconds!

[dales]

So, put the bag of groceries on the floor, which is a better place anyway.

[rubato]

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.

I know I'd be perky and at my best 2 weeks after abdominal surgery while I'm taking care of groceries and the other kids.

yrs,
rubato

[Miles]

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?

How about taking personal responsibility. But then again they baby was new t hey just forgot to look for him around the house.

[Long Run]

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.

[oldr_n_wsr]

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.

And pets too. Probably happens to them more often than kids.

[rubato]

ca 39 times a year.

"too often" in the sense that 100% of them were avoidable but not a leading cause of child death.

yrs,
rubato