Locked In Hot Car, 2 Young Boys Die; Woman [Foster Mother] Arrested in Deaths

Associated Press via CBSNews.com & Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | July 9, 2003

[newgeezer]

For discussion and educational use only.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide detectives examine the car in which they say the brothers, age 3 and 5, were locked in for about five hours before they were discovered by police. (Photo: AP)

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Locked In Hot Car, 2 Boys Die
LANCASTER, Calif., July 9, 2003


Two young boys died Tuesday after being locked for five hours in a sport utility vehicle in sweltering heat outside a daycare center, authorities said.

The boys, ages 3 and 5, were found by sheriff's deputies around 2 p.m. in the driveway of the daycare center.

Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Patterson says the 5-year-old was dead. His brother, who was severely dehydrated, died a short time later at a hospital.

Authorities say the boys had recently been placed in the foster care of the woman who ran the center.

Police also say she is the owner of the car in which the children were found.

They say the woman, whose identity was not released, told authorities that she left the children in the car at around 9 a.m.

A woman who answered the phone at A Child's Place Daycare declined to comment.

Afternoon temperatures hovered around 100 degrees in Lancaster, a high desert town about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. But Patterson said the temperature inside a closed car could have exceeded 120 degrees.

© MMIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Woman Arrested in Deaths of 2 Young Boys

LANCASTER, Calif. (AP)--The foster mother of two young boys who died after being left five hours in a sweltering sport utility vehicle was arrested for investigation of child endangerment.

Leslie Sue Smoot, 48, was booked late Tuesday night and held on $100,000 bail. No court date was scheduled.

Sheriff Lee Baca said earlier Tuesday that those responsible for leaving the children in the car would be charged with child endangerment and possibly manslaughter.

``Vehicles are not playpens,'' he said. ``Vehicles are not baby sitters. And vehicles, when they are not properly ventilated, are death traps.''

Smoot told authorities she left the boys, ages 3 and 5, in the car around 9 a.m. outside A Child's Place Daycare, which she ran.

``She indicated she thought someone else was going to get the children out of the car, possibly her husband,'' Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Al Grotefend said. ``There was some miscommunication.''

Smoot told investigators she discovered the boys in their car seats when she returned in the afternoon and pulled them from the vehicle.

The 5-year-old was dead. His brother, who was severely dehydrated, died a short time later at a hospital, sheriff's Sgt. Paul Patterson said.

Afternoon temperatures hovered around 100 degrees in the high desert town about 70 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Officials from the Department of Children and Family Services said they will investigate.

A woman who answered the phone at A Child's Place Daycare declined to comment. Friends and parents gathered Tuesday at the 24-hour day care center.

Naeemah Edwards, whose daughter attended the center, told KABC-TV she was shocked.

``They come in with my daughter, and they play together,'' she said, adding that she would not let her child to return to the center.

AP-NY-07-09-03 0642EDT

Copyright 2003, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

[Rodney King]

OK, please explain how lawyers were unconsitutional, but that the constitution has since been changed. That is whay I called a load of crap.

[steplock]

I was TRYING to hide the fact that I screwed up that statement! YOU must be a lawyer too!

But I stand by the fact that LAWYERS are consitutionally banned to be representatives, senators, etc...UNLESS they renounce their standings in the bar. Not that it would stop them from writting insane and otherwise unconstituinoal laws simply to benefit other lawyers like themselves.

I will revise my statements that ALL lawyers are PIGS ... only 99%+ of lawyers are pigs.

[luckystarmom]

I don't know about the Insight. We needed a practical family car, and the Insight is a 2 seater. We have never driven one.

As for the Prius, the ride was a 9.11 out of 10, and it's overall rating was a 9.64 out of 10 on the User's Road test.

Like I said, my husband liked it much better than the other cars he test drove, but this really isn't the issue on this thread.

The issue is the poor children that died. You were just making some cheap shots at hybrid owners for some unknown reason. Since I have a hybrid, I take offense at your remarks.

[newgeezer]

As for the Prius, the ride was a 9.11 out of 10, and it's overall rating was a 9.64 out of 10 on the User's Road test.

"Ride" (9.11) wasn't the subject; "handling" (7.68) was. You specifically said "They handle much nicer than similar non-hybrid vehicles." Ride is different than handling, much like taste is different than texture. Up to a point, ride does improve with added weight. Handling does not.

but this really isn't the issue on this thread. The issue is the poor children that died.

I'm very well aware of that. However, when I saw your claim, I chose to weigh in on the topic that you were discussing.

You were just making some cheap shots at hybrid owners for some unknown reason. Since I have a hybrid, I take offense at your remarks.

I did no such thing. That was someone else. I'm way more open-minded than most FReepers when it comes to hybrids. I've heard their owners can be rather fanatical and/or defensive, though. ;-)

[nmh]

I hope parents pull their kids form that daycare or better yet RAISE YOUR OWN CHILDREN and STOP worshipping the almighty dollar. In the old days, people did with less to raise their won kids. Now you have parent(s) over extended with debt to live beyond their means and of course the kids suffer when it comes to parents being around.

It's not about "quality" of time. It is all about quanity of time. It's unpredictable when your child will need a hug, kiss, encouragement. You can's schedule these REAL emotional needs and paid strangers who could care less, ration whatever affection they have, if any for these little ones.

Flame away self absorbed money worshipping "parent(s)".

[Lijahsbubbe]

I agree. Although I think there are many moms who would like to be at home, I have known couples who have a more than average home, more than one new car and boats or other toys.

They have a baby and then go right to work.

I saw a sign at a daycare when I was driving one day. It said, 'Welcome new babies!' It made me cringe.

[newgeezer]

Almost thirteen years ago, my wife and I were DINKs (dual income, no kids) doing the career thing for a large, multinational company. Then, we had our first child. Although we'd both been raised by at-home moms, it was pretty much a given that my wife would return to work after the six-week maternity leave. (After all, that's what everyone else was doing.) The mortgage and two car payments, although not excessive, were enough to keep us both working now that we had a baby. Thus, a slot was reserved in advance at our employer's award-winning, in-house day-care facility.

Then, out of nowhere, came the opportunity of a lifetime. Less than two weeks after the baby was born, the company announced impending layoffs. Four hundred would have to go. However, before the axe fell, anyone who would volunteer to be let go would be rewarded with double the usual severance pay (in addition to any accrued vacation). I took the news home that evening, and there was no doubt. We paid off both cars with her severance pay, and haven't looked back.

Some years later, we both came to know the Lord and realize it was His doing. If it hadn't been for those layoffs, our kids would likely have been raised by daycare providers. The Lord is good!