Camden Dad Rages (Father of one of the boys who suffocated in car trunk)

New York Post ^ | 6/27/05 | JOHN DOYLE and CYNTHIA R. FAGEN

[Conservatrix]

The grieving dad of the 11-year-old mentally troubled New Jersey boy who suffocated in a car trunk with two younger pals blames the state's social-services agency, saying it should have put his son in a facility where he could have gotten help.

"If he would have been put in a safe place, this wouldn't have happened. The child needed a lot of help," Anibal Cruz Sr. said yesterday. -snip-" [The division] did nothing," Cruz said. "Why didn't they lock the baby somewhere safe? When kids need help, they have to help them."

[Calpernia]

Sad.

He is trying to do everything he can to reverse what happened.

I really hate how our local media covered their grief.

[hershey]

In this case, the father seems to have repeatedly tried to get his son help, knowing the mother wasn't a competent guardian. Who knows why he didn't take custody, but probably he knew he couldn't cope, esp. with holding down a job. (His son needed full time supervision.) So no wonder he's bitter, if that's the word.

[hummingbird]

It is unfortunately that society has been fed so much propaganda about how horrible orphanages are as they don't have to be at all. I spent some time in one as a youngster myself, when my parents were too sick to care for me, and frankly, I didn't want to leave.

Agree. Orphanages would be excellent alternatives in so many cases. Wasn't it Newt Gingrich who suggested revitalizing orphanages a few years back to keep kids from falling through the cracks and was royally beaten back by the Dems?

[Conservatrix]

One stable orphanage beats 3-4 or more foster homes where a child never learns ANY sense of attachment.

I was in foster care for the first year of my life. By the time I was 13 months old I had had three mothers.

Many kids have it far worse than I did.

[Collier]

If the mother left the kids unsupervised for just a few minutes, as she claims.........then common sense tells you that they couldn't have gotten very far. Therefore, why didn't someone OPEN THE DAMN TRUNK. After all, it wasn't a stranger's car parked in the street. It was the grandmother's car parked on the property (side or back yard), where the kids were last seen playing.

Or the mother is lying and left them unsupervised for a much longer amount of time. That could lead her to think they wandered off.

Either way, mom's at fault. IMO

[Conservatrix]

You have said everything I was trying to say, and better.

[Conservatrix]

A couple of hours to suffocate is an ETERNITY...
God bless those poor kids.....

[Collier]

Thank you. This case has me so upset, I want to scream like you do.

My neighbor has a couple of abandoned cars on his property. Side yard, back yard. That would be the first place to look. Helloooooooo

[Conservatrix]

Good parents blame themselves first. Then, after the emotion has cleared some, they examine the situation more logically to learn what they can do to prevent it from happening again.

Exactly. GOOD parents. I don't think these peopel udnerstand what being good is. No personal responsibility, blaming someone else, now owning up. The whole thing sickens me. Of course the mother who left them unattended is saying nothing because PERHAPS she willl be brought up on child endangerment or neglect charges. Yes, she lost her child but it was her own fault she did so. And I would be saying the same thing if I had been stupid, neglectful, lasy, distracted or in the house enough for it to have happened to me.

[Collier]

The mother being brought up on charges will never happen.

[hummingbird]

BraveMan, the tribute you and your wife created for you son is so beautiful. I am so sorry for your loss; you are keeping his memory alive and I will visit your memorial to him again soon. Thank you for reminding me that life is so precious.

[Trust but Verify]

The trunk was not open. The kids accessed the trunk by using the lever at the side of the driver's seat. The piston that would normally hold the trunk lid open was broken, so as soon as the lid was not being held up, it fell and latched, trapping the kids inside.

This is not a far-fetched scenario at all.

[Conservatrix]

The mother being brought up on charges will never happen. Well who knows, but she should own up to her actions which led to these boys being unsupervised and then getting into trouble which led to their tragic deaths.

[Trust but Verify]

No doubt,, I'm sure it was agonizing.

[hummingbird]

That does not seem right. Most car trunks are either open or closed and unless someone deliberately left it open or forgot to close it it will be locked.

It may depend on the year of the car. I think it was a Toyota Camry...don't know if there was ever a problem with their trunks but I seem to recall some automakers had to make safety feature corrections so that if someone did get stuck in a trunk, they could push a release from inside the trunk.

Its kind of like the Lane Hope Chests. They had to make a recall (or supply new latches) to a line of their chests because children could get in the chests while playing but couldn't release anything from inside once the top of the chest was closed.

[fatima]

Sorry to hear about your son BraveMan.

[antiunion person]

Parenting is only a word used when someone wants to blame someone else or sue someone. It takes a village only when the government (liberals) want 12 year olds to get birth control or abortions. Try letting your child go to school with an aspirin or medication that they can administer by themselves. They get expelled due to the "ZERO TOLERANCE" rules. The government (liberals) only want to tell you what to do with your children when it is for their benefit.
As far as this parent saying the STATE should have taken the child and put him into a mental facility, it's the first step to get out of trouble and sue someone to benefit monetarily for the child's death. In my opinion, they should charge the mother who was "supposed" to be watching the kids with neglect and endangerment. Due to political correctness, since the child's parents were Mexican or Spanish descent, they will NOT be charged. God forbid a minority is charged with a crime that is the government's and President Bush's fault for not taking responsibility.

[Collier]

Sorry for your loss Brave Man.
I walk in your shoes too.

[hummingbird]

And subsequently, a law was passed that required anyone disposing of a refrigerator to either remove (or otherwise secure) the door. I wonder if that law would be applicable in this case?

Good point. Think I'll take a look around my prop. and my parents' prop. and see if there is anything I'm overlooking.

[Coleus]

the police screwed up big time, this is police 101 not advanced police science. they teach this stuff in grammar school and to boy scouts.