Thursday, May 26, 2011

Leaving the children in the car

You know, I remember what it is like to have two small children with you when you're driving around. And I know how frustrating it is to not be able to stop and grab a soda, something for dinner, or the birthday card you forgot to buy earlier in the day without having to haul out a stroller (or a baby carrier) and maneuver that thing through a small store while herding the other, sleepy child with the other hand and still make your purchase without dropping your money on the floor and forgetting your change when you leave. I know. I remember. It kinda sucks.

But never once did I think it would be OK just that one time to leave the sleeping kids in the car while I ran into the store. And here's why:
San Antonio police said a man stole the woman's car with her children, a 9-month-old and a 3-year-old, asleep in the back seat.

Police said the car was stolen around 11 p.m. Wednesday at a convenience store on the 5900 block of Rittiman Road.

Police said the mother had stopped at the store to get a soda when she looked outside and saw that someone had taken off with the vehicle.

The woman screamed for help, but the driver fled. Police issued an Amber Alert for the children, then received an anonymous call saying the children had been abandoned at a Dollar General Store on Walzem Road.

The children were safely returned to their mother around 3 a.m., police said.

...

And although the children are safe and back with their mother, police told KSAT that the mother could face charges of endangering a child.

"As far as the mother goes in this case, it's not advisable to leave your children unattended in a vehicle, let alone leave the keys in the ignition," said Sgt. Chris Benavides, with the San Antonio Police Department.
(from KSAT-12)

And never once did I think it was OK to leave my kids in the car with the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked! Inconvenience sucks, but sometimes it needs to be borne.

5 comments:

Charlene said...

Just this last week a child was left in a locked car parked in front of the mother's home. She left him there and went inside to lie down. He died. She was arrested and charged and is in jail. The child's father was unavailable to help as he is in jail for having shot someone last year.

I don't get it. Why bring a child into such a chaotic family.

Dave said...

Stooopid people.

edtheroach said...

when I heard this on the news, I felt bad for the mother. but, I did not realize how young the children were and that the keys were left in the ignition with the doors unlocked. That's just begging for trouble. My mom left me in the car when I was about 9 or 10 while she ran in to a walgreens to grab something. No big deal in my opinion because a 10 yr old knows how to lock a car door or yell for help. With those two details you highlighted, I now see why they want to charge her with endangering her kids.

Sabra said...

There's nothing in this world that's so important that I'd leave my kids in the car on Rittiman late at night unless they had an armed guard. You need a soda that bad, go to the damned Jack in the Box that's right there, or better yet to the McDonald's either on Rittiman or the one on Walzem. Chances are she lives in that neighborhood; she ought to know just how bad it is.

Keith Alan K said...

When I lived in that area, there were shootings in my apartment parking lot and robberies at pretty much EVERY fast food place and convenient store all the time. Very scummy 'hood. But I wonder about the kids--maybe they finally came down off a bad binge and needed their sleep? They grow bad so fast these days. I love the Dollar General end to the story.