Another Child Left in Car Death - MoCo

[Anonymous]

Praying for all the first responders who handled this call. The 911 calltaker, the police officers and paramedics. You don’t ever forget tragedies involving children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

It sounds to me like you have not read “Fatal Distraction.” It won Gene Weingarten a Pulitzer. Once you read it, you won’t forget it.

https://mitchellhamline.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2012/01/Fatal-Distraction.pdf

+1
Yes. It could happen to you. That piece is so moving and should be required reading for everyone.

Nope. I am 100% certain it could never happen to me. Ever. You don’t just forget a child.

This can be a very dangerous belief. The brain science is clear that this can happen to the most attentive and loving parents. The right situation and order of events can make this a possibility for almost anyone. Being self-aware enough to realize that it indeed could happen to you might help you put the safeguards in place to reduce the likelihood. By just assuming you could never do this, you might not have the same vigilance. I am a super organized parent but I could still see how in the right scenario, this could be something that tragically could happen to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

It sounds to me like you have not read “Fatal Distraction.” It won Gene Weingarten a Pulitzer. Once you read it, you won’t forget it.

https://mitchellhamline.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2012/01/Fatal-Distraction.pdf

+1
Yes. It could happen to you. That piece is so moving and should be required reading for everyone.

Nope. I am 100% certain it could never happen to me. Ever. You don’t just forget a child.

This can be a very dangerous belief. The brain science is clear that this can happen to the most attentive and loving parents. The right situation and order of events can make this a possibility for almost anyone. Being self-aware enough to realize that it indeed could happen to you might help you put the safeguards in place to reduce the likelihood. By just assuming you could never do this, you might not have the same vigilance. I am a super organized parent but I could still see how in the right scenario, this could be something that tragically could happen to me.

It's almost never the primary/default parent. Almost never.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

It sounds to me like you have not read “Fatal Distraction.” It won Gene Weingarten a Pulitzer. Once you read it, you won’t forget it.

https://mitchellhamline.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2012/01/Fatal-Distraction.pdf

+1
Yes. It could happen to you. That piece is so moving and should be required reading for everyone.

Nope. I am 100% certain it could never happen to me. Ever. You don’t just forget a child.

This can be a very dangerous belief. The brain science is clear that this can happen to the most attentive and loving parents. The right situation and order of events can make this a possibility for almost anyone. Being self-aware enough to realize that it indeed could happen to you might help you put the safeguards in place to reduce the likelihood. By just assuming you could never do this, you might not have the same vigilance. I am a super organized parent but I could still see how in the right scenario, this could be something that tragically could happen to me.

It's almost never the primary/default parent. Almost never.

Correct. That’s why it’s always men doing this. Never women. This is not a parenting problem, this is a men problem. Men simply cannot be trusted around children. None of them. Not even my own sons. Men are either shaking babies to death because they’re mad at them for crying, or forgetting them in a hot car because they had to go play video games or watch pornography, or if the children survive long enough, and have the misfortune of having been born a female in Trump’s American, fathers will start raping their daughters at age 9-10. Men are vile awful creatures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

I'm in this camp. I can't understand how you forget a kid, but I can 100% see my husband doing this (my kids are teens) if he was in charge of pick up/drop off. He has ADHD and gets very distracted.

Same situation here.

Constant worry after I divorced my XH and my youngest was a baby.

You had so little faith in yourself? You were so distraught over losing your husband you thought you’d leave your child in the car and forget?

It's pretty obvious she was worried about her husband forgetting about their infant, but you be your edgy self.

That’s just silly. Why would she think that? Maybe she has anxiety and needs drugs because that is not a normal thought process.

You’ve never been married to a distracted, forgetful person before.

My H routinely leaves the doors to the house wide open overnight (in the middle of winter and we also live in a bad area), leaves the stove on, he got in trouble at work because he both forgot his work laptop in his car AND forgot to lock the car so it got stolen overnight (he has also forgot to shut his car door and I’ll go out in the morning and the door is wide open).

His entire family is like that so he’s no longer allowed to take the kids over to see MIL and FIL unsupervised, they have a pool, and I’ve seen them leave the gate to the pool open, the door to the house open, and everyone wanders off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

Men.

This is exclusively a men problem. Women do not do this, at all, ever.

This was sarcasm? Right? Because

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nebraska-woman-arrested-death-5-year-old-was-left-alone-car-hours-rcna161549

https://abcnews.go.com/US/mother-arrested-texas-after-baby-dies-hot-car/story?id=113017274

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/trial-begins-monday-for-woman-who-left-7-month-old-granddaughter-in-hot-car

https://abc7.com/post/3-year-old-girl-dies-possible-heat-stroke-after-found-car-unconscious-mother-anaheim/15282165/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/charlotte-north-carolina-hot-car-death-charges/story?id=111521929

https://people.com/girl-dies-hot-car-mom-allegedly-says-called-into-work-police-8696615

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/us/new-york-hot-car-child-death-suffolk-county

I agree it's not only men but many of those you posted are not the primary parent. Quite a few foster moms and grandmothers in there. And WTH is that one about an 8 year old. How is an 8 year old trapped in a car???!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

I'm in this camp. I can't understand how you forget a kid, but I can 100% see my husband doing this (my kids are teens) if he was in charge of pick up/drop off. He has ADHD and gets very distracted.

Same situation here.

Constant worry after I divorced my XH and my youngest was a baby.

You had so little faith in yourself? You were so distraught over losing your husband you thought you’d leave your child in the car and forget?

It's pretty obvious she was worried about her husband forgetting about their infant, but you be your edgy self.

That’s just silly. Why would she think that? Maybe she has anxiety and needs drugs because that is not a normal thought process.

You’ve never been married to a distracted, forgetful person before.

My H routinely leaves the doors to the house wide open overnight (in the middle of winter and we also live in a bad area), leaves the stove on, he got in trouble at work because he both forgot his work laptop in his car AND forgot to lock the car so it got stolen overnight (he has also forgot to shut his car door and I’ll go out in the morning and the door is wide open).

His entire family is like that so he’s no longer allowed to take the kids over to see MIL and FIL unsupervised, they have a pool, and I’ve seen them leave the gate to the pool open, the door to the house open, and everyone wanders off.

You married and procreated with that, lady.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

I have unfortunately done a ton of research about this. It is 99.99% of the time not on purpose. It usually happens when its a different caretaker, different pickup time, etc. You are out of your routine and going on "autopilot". Have you ever driven through a traffic light and not really remembered driving though it? You're on autopilot. Usually the child has fallen asleep or is just quietly occupied not realizing the parent is not coming back. Many cars are being made now with weight sensors that alert you if there is something over 20 lbs in the back seat.

Car manufacturers won’t spend the $$

Of course it could be required, if legislators a cared about children instead of corporate profits.

I recently heard some advice: when you are dropping your kid off, especially if it is not normally your routine…put one shoe in the backseat, so you have to look there.

All humans are capable of mistakes, despite what the haters will now claim.

They already are spending the money on this. Just like they spent money to change the direction of electronic windows.... you used to push DOWN on the window button to raise it. This resulted in children stepping on the button while hanging out of it, and suffocating b/c the window went up. Now when you push down, the window goes down. There's lobby for this.

+1 - almost every safety feature that is now standard in your car is now standard because of lobbying and laws requiring it.

I do not want to be unsympathetic, but installing sensors/alarms in every car for an issue that doesn't affect every consumer, and increasing the price of cars, seems like a big obstacle to overcome. Seems like making this an education and awareness issue, much like putting babies to sleep on their backs, is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

Men.

This is exclusively a men problem. Women do not do this, at all, ever.

This was sarcasm? Right? Because

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nebraska-woman-arrested-death-5-year-old-was-left-alone-car-hours-rcna161549

https://abcnews.go.com/US/mother-arrested-texas-after-baby-dies-hot-car/story?id=113017274

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/trial-begins-monday-for-woman-who-left-7-month-old-granddaughter-in-hot-car

https://abc7.com/post/3-year-old-girl-dies-possible-heat-stroke-after-found-car-unconscious-mother-anaheim/15282165/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/charlotte-north-carolina-hot-car-death-charges/story?id=111521929

https://people.com/girl-dies-hot-car-mom-allegedly-says-called-into-work-police-8696615

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/us/new-york-hot-car-child-death-suffolk-county

I agree it's not only men but many of those you posted are not the primary parent. Quite a few foster moms and grandmothers in there. And WTH is that one about an 8 year old. How is an 8 year old trapped in a car???!?

Maybe kid fell asleep?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

If this case was an anomaly, I would wonder that as well. But it isn’t. Who forgets their kid in the car for several hours? It turns out that a pediatrician, an assistant principal, a college professor, a nurse, a dentist, a rocket scientist, a police officer, among others. So any of us could do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

I have unfortunately done a ton of research about this. It is 99.99% of the time not on purpose. It usually happens when its a different caretaker, different pickup time, etc. You are out of your routine and going on "autopilot". Have you ever driven through a traffic light and not really remembered driving though it? You're on autopilot. Usually the child has fallen asleep or is just quietly occupied not realizing the parent is not coming back. Many cars are being made now with weight sensors that alert you if there is something over 20 lbs in the back seat.

Car manufacturers won’t spend the $$

Of course it could be required, if legislators a cared about children instead of corporate profits.

I recently heard some advice: when you are dropping your kid off, especially if it is not normally your routine…put one shoe in the backseat, so you have to look there.

All humans are capable of mistakes, despite what the haters will now claim.

They already are spending the money on this. Just like they spent money to change the direction of electronic windows.... you used to push DOWN on the window button to raise it. This resulted in children stepping on the button while hanging out of it, and suffocating b/c the window went up. Now when you push down, the window goes down. There's lobby for this.

+1 - almost every safety feature that is now standard in your car is now standard because of lobbying and laws requiring it.

I do not want to be unsympathetic, but installing sensors/alarms in every car for an issue that doesn't affect every consumer, and increasing the price of cars, seems like a big obstacle to overcome. Seems like making this an education and awareness issue, much like putting babies to sleep on their backs, is the way to go.

My car has child safety latches and adjustable height seatbelts in the back. My father has a switch in his truck to turn off airbags if there is a child in the front seat. Neither of those apply to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

It sounds to me like you have not read “Fatal Distraction.” It won Gene Weingarten a Pulitzer. Once you read it, you won’t forget it.

https://mitchellhamline.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2012/01/Fatal-Distraction.pdf

+1
Yes. It could happen to you. That piece is so moving and should be required reading for everyone.

Nope. I am 100% certain it could never happen to me. Ever. You don’t just forget a child.

This can be a very dangerous belief. The brain science is clear that this can happen to the most attentive and loving parents. The right situation and order of events can make this a possibility for almost anyone. Being self-aware enough to realize that it indeed could happen to you might help you put the safeguards in place to reduce the likelihood. By just assuming you could never do this, you might not have the same vigilance. I am a super organized parent but I could still see how in the right scenario, this could be something that tragically could happen to me.

It's almost never the primary/default parent. Almost never.

Correct. That’s why it’s always men doing this. Never women.

Arrogant idiotic women like you kill children.


https://abcnews.go.com/US/mother-arrested-texas-after-baby-dies-hot-car/story?id=113017274

https://www.kktv.com/2025/02/19/mom-charged-with-child-endangerment-leaving-kids-car-while-she-shopped/

https://www.wyff4.com/article/mom-leaves-infant-4-year-old-in-car-while-she-tans-police-say/64700224

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/03/20/alaska-mother-arrested-after-leaving-toddler-alone-car-go-romantic-rendezvous-troopers-say/

https://maricopacountyattorney.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1189

https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/mother-children-in-over-killed-murder-life-in-prison-kids-sons-son-mom-toddler-baby-heat-burn-death-jail-arrest-police-atlanta-williams-dead-head-into-kitchen-911-heat


https://abc7chicago.com/post/patricia-ortiz-le-grand-california-woman-charged-murders-3-children-appears-merced-county-court/16010100/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

It sounds to me like you have not read “Fatal Distraction.” It won Gene Weingarten a Pulitzer. Once you read it, you won’t forget it.

https://mitchellhamline.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2012/01/Fatal-Distraction.pdf

+1
Yes. It could happen to you. That piece is so moving and should be required reading for everyone.

Nope. I am 100% certain it could never happen to me. Ever. You don’t just forget a child.

Honestly I think having the thought that it COULD be you makes you safer. I will never take it for granted, particularly those days when I didn't get enough sleep and I'm zonked out.

This is true. The overconfident narcissistic idiots are the biggest risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

I have unfortunately done a ton of research about this. It is 99.99% of the time not on purpose. It usually happens when its a different caretaker, different pickup time, etc. You are out of your routine and going on "autopilot". Have you ever driven through a traffic light and not really remembered driving though it? You're on autopilot. Usually the child has fallen asleep or is just quietly occupied not realizing the parent is not coming back. Many cars are being made now with weight sensors that alert you if there is something over 20 lbs in the back seat.

Car manufacturers won’t spend the $$

Of course it could be required, if legislators a cared about children instead of corporate profits.

I recently heard some advice: when you are dropping your kid off, especially if it is not normally your routine…put one shoe in the backseat, so you have to look there.

All humans are capable of mistakes, despite what the haters will now claim.

What it never is, is:

The mother (SAH or Working) who is the primary driver/caretaker of the children.

Overconfident idiots like you, who think you are immortal because you are rich and special, kill children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who goes home and forgets their kid in the car for several hours?

I'm in this camp. I can't understand how you forget a kid, but I can 100% see my husband doing this (my kids are teens) if he was in charge of pick up/drop off. He has ADHD and gets very distracted.

Same situation here.

Constant worry after I divorced my XH and my youngest was a baby.

You had so little faith in yourself? You were so distraught over losing your husband you thought you’d leave your child in the car and forget?

It's pretty obvious she was worried about her husband forgetting about their infant, but you be your edgy self.

That’s just silly. Why would she think that? Maybe she has anxiety and needs drugs because that is not a normal thought process.

Because she is practically perfect in every way, so her child being in anyone else's care is a nigh unbearable risk.