Fatal Day Care: Children Left Behind May Prompt Safety Alarms
The driver of a day care center van is facing negligent manslaughter charges for the wrongful death of 2 1/2-year-old Haile Brockington, who was found dead after spending six hours in the back of the Delray Beach day care vehicle last August, according to The Palm Beach Post News.
The owner of Katie’s Kids Learning lost her license to operate a child care facility over this tragic and totally preventable death.
Haile is the latest of 49 children who died this year after they were left unattended and forgotten in vehicles across the country. In 2009, 33 children lost their lives when the temperature inside the van or car caused hyperthermia or overheating and eventually death.
How can Florida fight this frightening trend? Tennessee and Wisconsin require an alarm be installed in any vehicle that is being operated by child care providers who have at least six passengers onboard. The alarm forces the caretaker to search the entire van before moving to the back of the vehicle to turn off the alarm. To prevent such a tragedy from occurring, safety experts suggest the driver put a book or purse in the back seat next to the child so he or she remembers to retrieve the little one when they get out of the car.
It sounds incredible that anyone would leave a child in the car causing a wrongful death, but it happens all the time, generally when drivers are under stress and distracted.
The Florida wrongful death attorneys at Farah & Farah are always available to offer advice during a complimentary consultation on a wrongful death or personal injury case.
