Not again! Such a Tragedy

[DMApixie]

Baby Dies In Hot Van As Dad Works All Day

CONCORD, Calif. -- A man was arrested Wednesday night after he mistakenly left his 11-month-old son in a hot car while he went to work in Concord. The boy was found dead more than six hours later.

Police said 46-year-old Danny Takemoto has been booked on suspicion of felony manslaughter.

Takemoto told police that he forgot to drop off the child at a day care center and instead drove to work Wednesday morning. His wife phoned him shortly before 3:30 p.m. to ask where their son was, prompting Takemoto to race out to the SUV and find the baby's lifeless body.

The temperature in Concord reached 87 degrees, but would have been much higher inside the vehicle.

Authorities said an autopsy likely will be conducted Thursday.

Under California law, leaving a child age 6 or younger alone in a vehicle is a citable offense.

And again, on the same day...

Baby In Car While Mom Shops

Anoka County, Minn., authorities said a 25-year-old Andover, Minn., woman was arrested after leaving her baby locked in a sweltering minivan with the windows closed while she shopped at Target Wednesday.

The sheriff's office said another customer spotted the van with the child inside in the store's parking lot in Andover and called authorities.

The temperature was 90 degrees and authorities said the baby was sweating heavily when removed from the van.

The sheriff's office said the baby was taken to a hospital, where initial exams indicated the child was stable. Authorities said the store's surveillance video indicated the baby had been inside the van for half and hour.

The mother was found inside the store and arrested, accused of child endangerment. She was booked and released. Prosecutors will determine whether she'll be charged.

This makes me sad and mad at the same time.

[shan-ash]

What heartbreaking stories:(

[merlinmagic4]

Oh, those poor babies! I'm really sorry to read this.

[conorsmom2000]

I can't stand to read these stories anymore - it's heartbreaking and unbelievable at the same time! :(


Prosecutors will determine whether she'll be charged.


"whether" she'll be charged? :confused: I may not know the whole story, but it appears to me she knew she left the baby in there - I would think that is clearly child endangerment.

[DISNEYFIX]

I would kill myself if I were the parent. Couldn't live with it.

[Caroleh]

This is so sad. There's so much I'd love to say, but I'll bite my tongue. It goes to show that some people aren't cut out to be parents.:confused:

[Terra]

:ack:I have no words...only sadness!

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

This is so sad. There's so much I'd love to say, but I'll bite my tongue. It goes to show that some people aren't cut out to be parents.:confused:

:( Ditto.

[crazypoohbear]

God bless those poor children.

Why are some people allowed to procreate????

What kind of parent "forgets" their child?? God help them.

[Momof2boys]

What kind of parent "forgets" their child?? God help them.


I was thinking the same thing. You've seen this child every day for 11 months and you forget to take him to day care ? I just don't get it :ack:

And I'd be curious to know how that marriage turns out ~ I could never forgive my husband for that.

[Hayden's Dad]

I am infuriated by this!!! I am actually seeing red. I can't believe that any parent can FORGET their child!!! More and more each day I see more reasons that you should have to have a license to have children. These people had the opportunity that my wife and myself will not have, to spend a lifetime with their children, and now they're gone!!!!!!!

I am sorry to rant, but to those of you who know the story with my son who is terminally ill you will understand.

[Terra]

I

I am sorry to rant, but to those of you who know the story with my son who is terminally ill you will understand.

I must have overlooked that post, but I am so sorry!! I can't even begin to imagine...

and I totally agree with you! When so many situations like yours and things such as infertility happen to wonderful people and then idiots have children and could care less...

I felt that way after my 2 miscarriages before my son David. I couldn't understand how teenagers could have 2 or 3 babies, and people were dumping their babies in garbage cans...abusing babies...and here I couldn't have my 2 little angels.. :(

[merlinmagic4]

I was thinking the same thing. You've seen this child every day for 11 months and you forget to take him to day care ? I just don't get it :ack:



Do we know any more about the story? Is it perhaps a dad who never took his child to daycare with that day's exception? I know many dads who aren't truly involved in the day to day operations of childcare as they work a ton of hours and are rarely home. Maybe he was just on autopilot and made a horrific mistake. I highly doubt he meant to kill his child...............

Edit: I just googled the story and actually the dad did take him to daycare everyday for the past four months so I guess I'm wrong but I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I thought I'd edit my own post first before I got :flame: !!

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I can understand leaving a bag of groceries in the car because you are stressed or preoccupied etc, but a child??? Where is their brains?
Those poor children!

[Stitchahula]

This makes me so sick how can anyone forget their child. I know there have been times when driving to the store I've had a moment of panic when I look in the mirror and don't see my son(s) and then I remember that I left them at home with their father. God bless those poor kids.

[snifflesmcg]

Whenever I get out of my car, I always make sure I have my purse and my satellite radio receiver, I never forget these items. How can anyone forget a moving breathing human being??? Seriously, having kids is the only thing you don't need a licence for.

[rnin02]

And I'd be curious to know how that marriage turns out ~ I could never forgive my husband for that.


I'm curious about that too...I don't think I could forgive my husband either. It would be incredibly, unbelieveably difficult.

[mttafire]

Personally..Id put this parent in a car, lock the doors when its about 95 out and leave. Let happen to him just the way he killed his kid. Its ridiculous to have ANY excuse for such negligence. NO excuse for this..NONE. Complete idiot.

[rnin02]

Personally..Id put this parent in a car, lock the doors when its about 95 out and leave. Let happen to him just the way he killed his kid. Its ridiculous to have ANY excuse for such negligence. NO excuse for this..NONE. Complete idiot.


The sad part is, the parent could unlock the doors, he wouldn't be left helpless like a child/infant (or pet) would. :(

[mttafire]

The sad part is, the parent could unlock the doors, he wouldn't be left helpless like a child/infant (or pet) would. :(
Yep..Good point.

[CleveSJM]

Wow, I'm surprised at how brutal some are on this guy. Isn't America the innocent until proven guilty land? I don't think we can ever judge people based on web news, etc. I would cut him a break and pray for both he and the child. :(

I would also suggest to people who think that they could "never" do something like that to be careful of the word "never" it's a tricky one.

Again, I mostly agree with y'all by default and just playing a little devil's advocate here but I really try to be less judgemental of people until I understand the situation completely.:thedolls:

[LibertyTreeGal]

I would kill myself if I were the parent. Couldn't live with it.

Ditto, I wouldn't want to live.... :(

[Catwillow]

From The Sanfransisco Chronicle: July 27, 2007 ....."Danny Takemoto had a routine. For four months, he usually took his 11-month-old son, Ian, to a Pleasant Hill day care center at 8 a.m. before heading to work at a Concord medical equipment company.

But on Tuesday, Takemoto, 46, arrived at Baby Steps Infant and Toddler Care shortly before 9 a.m., telling staffers that his schedule had changed for the rest of the week and that he'd be taking his two daughters to soccer practice first before arriving with Ian, employee Haseena Dawud said."

Not that this absolves him from any wrongdoing but I have known many people in my short 45 yrs that lead a 'by the hour/minute" life and ANY change in totally disrupts the day (especially the morning) until the person adjusts.

Certainly gives us an opportunity to pray for this family and friends as I am sure the grief is unbearable. Can't imagine.

[Here we go again...]

When my youngest DD was small she NEVER made any noise in a car. She did not talk, cry or do anything that would help to remind you that she was back there. She was the best baby in the world. We could drive 6 hours to Florida and she would just sit there and look out the window or sleep.

There were many days that I got to work and looked in the back seat in a panic to see if I remembered to bring her to daycare. She was so quiet that it was very easy to forget she was even there. Thank God that I never forgot her... I could not live with myself.

Please pray for this family. I have a friend that lost a 2 year old son because her husband backed out of the driveway and he was behind the car. It is such a tragedy to lose a child like this. In this day and age we have so much pressure on us it is easy to let our minds wander... and believe it or not, our own kids can slip our minds.

Now I have no sympathy for the parents that leave their kids in the car while they run into the store... or the casino... that is an issue around here.

[Scar]

... and again, and again...

--------------------------------------------

2 Children Die of Heat in Parked Cars in Separate Cases

Friday, August 24, 2007

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — A 7-month-old infant was found dead in the heat of a parked car Thursday near the Washington University School of Medicine, authorities said. Hours later, a 2-year-old toddler was found dead in a vehicle in a suburb of Cincinnati.

Authorities said the 7-month-old's parents are a doctor and a medical researcher at the university. Their names and the child's name have not been released.

On a day when the temperature reached the upper 90s, a woman spotted the baby, called 911 and broke the car window, police Capt. James Gieseke said. The child was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The child had been in the car for three hours, Gieseke said. It's believed the mother left the child in the back seat of the father's car, but that the father thought the mother had taken the child.

"There was a horrible, devastating mix-up as to who was going to take the child to day care," Gieseke said.

Details were still sketchy because the couple were too distraught to give complete statements, Gieseke said.

Jan Null, adjunct professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University, said the death was the 22nd in the U.S. this year involving a child left in a hot vehicle.

A 2-year-old girl was found dead Thursday in her mother's sweltering sport utility vehicle in Union Township, about 20 miles southeast of Cincinnati, police said.

The girl, Cecilia Slaby, was strapped in a car seat in the rear of the vehicle, which was in the parking lot of Glen Este Middle School, where the girl's mother, Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, is an assistant principal, said Clermont County Prosecutor Don White. No charges had been filed.

An autopsy was planned to determine the cause of death. Temperatures in the area reached 100 degrees Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Police said they received several 911 calls about 3:15 p.m. from people who spotted the girl in the vehicle.

[conorsmom2000]

... and again, and again...

--------------------------------------------

...the death was the 22nd in the U.S. this year involving a child left in a hot vehicle.

:( :( :( :( :(

[crazypoohbear]

I am sorry for these people but I just don't get it. When my kids were little I always talked to them while in the car, even as infants I would talk about the trees,grass, cars the sky, etc.
they would babble back.
If they were asleep I would keep checking on them to make sure they hadn't choked, spit up, they were comfy etc.

Maybe it's a sign that we are too focused on work and business and "making it" then on our families.

I hope the whole world steps back and takes a breather and starts putting family first again.
No one ever said on their death bed " I wish I had worked more and spent less time with my family"

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

:(:(:(

I don't even know what to say anymore.