ANOTHER toddler dies in hot car!
kathleen flick
The following is from the Saturday, July 11, 1998 Times-Picayune (New
Orleans, LA)
_______________________________
Toddler left in car for three hours dies
Meraux man forgot his son
By Steve Cannizaro and Dan De Leo
St. Bernard Bureau
An 18-month-old boy died Friday after his father left him inside a car in blistering heat for three hours during a visit to the family's Chalmette restaurant, St. Bernard Parish authorities said.
Paul LaBrosse, 35, of Meraux, was released after several hours of questioning by sheriff's officials, who have not decided whether to arrest him in the death of his son, Zachary.
"The family is totally grief-stricken right now," St. Bernard Sheriff Jack Stephens said. "After they bury their boy, they'll have to deal with the legal situation."
LaBrosse started the day with his two daughters and son in his car. He dropped off the girls first, and was taking Zachary to a day-care center when he decided to make a brief visit with his father at their restaurant, Par 3, at 1530 E. Judge Perez Drive, Stephens said.
LaBrosse parked about 10:30 a.m. and went inside, leaving Zachary in a child seat in the back of the car. The windows were closed.
LaBrosse became distracted and ended up helping in the kitchen, trimming meat for the day's menu, Stephens said. "It totally slipped his mind that the child was in the car," he said.
Three hours later as he was leaving, LaBrosse found the child. He rushed back inside with his son, and a group of nurses tried to revive Zachary with CPR and used ice to cool him. The child was taken to Chalmette Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
"There's absolutely no evidence that this was anything but a freaky, horrible, tragic accident," Stephens said.
Family members, including the child's mother, Tracey LaBrosse, rushed to the hospital and later to the detective bureay, where LaBrosse and others were being questioned.
"This is hard on everybody," said a great-uncle, Bradley LaBrosse.
The restaurant, a popular eatery for local politicos, closed after the death. An elderly woman stifled sobs as she made her way to her car.
Former state Sen. Sammy Nunez, a restaurant regular, said he was having lunch when the baby was discovered. He seemed shaken. "This is a tragic thing,"
The high temperature in Chalmette Friday was 96 degrees, according to Weather Services Corp. It is difficult to say how hot it was in the car, but Kevin Robbins, director of the Southern Regional Climate Center, said the temperature could have reached 150 degrees. There was little cloud cover Friday to impede the sun's rays, he said.
"Any amount of time in a car in this heat could be considered dangerous," said Stephen Weimer, a general pediatrician at Tulane Hospital for Children. "People need to have a healthy respect for the heat." Weimer said the toddler probably died from heat stroke. He said heat stroke occurs when the body's temperature shoots up.
The baby's "body temperature was probably so elevated he went into an irreversible come," Weimer said.
An autopsy will be performed, but officials said they believe the cause of death was overexposure to heat. Stephens said his office will make a decision next week whether to book LaBrosse with negligent homicide or any other criminal charge. [end of article]
MG
>
> I'm becoming very, very bothered by all these morons leaving their
> babies in hot cars, and I can't help wonder how much of it is
> intentional - Kathleen.
>
Hot cars...*any* car. I cannot imagine leaving a young child alone in a
car, even just for a few minutes, regardless of the weather. This does
seem to be happening more and more lately, or maybe we're just hearing
about it more.
DedNdogYrs
a newspaper or listen to a news broadcast. People who do know about dangers in
society and learn from other people's mistakes.
Dogs & children first.
kathleen flick
have two young children - is that you *might* leave
your kids alone in the car very briefly under some
conditions, like: You walk from your car 15-20 feet to
the window to pay for your gas, or buy a candy bar.
Most of us wouldn't think a parent was negligent for
doing something like that. I just fail to understand
why you'd leave a baby in a car, regardless of the
weather, where you COULDN'T SEE THE CAR OR THE CHILD,
and when the child isn't old enough to get out on their
own. After all, cars don't only get hot inside. They
also catch on fire, are hit by drunks, and are stolen.
As for the other one I posted - where the 2-year-old
was trapped in the abandoned car - seems to me anyone
would view an abandoned car the same as an abandoned
refrigerator, and either take the doors off or lock it
up.
Kathleen
left...@my-dejanews.com
> kathleen flick wrote:
> >
> > I'm becoming very, very bothered by all these morons leaving their
> > babies in hot cars, and I can't help wonder how much of it is
> > intentional - Kathleen.
> >
Intentional or not, anyone leaving a child or an animal in a hot car should
get AT LEAST two years. That's not done out of fear; it's done out of laziness
and stupidity.
--
"This is not a man who is leaving with his head between his legs."
-Dan Quayle on Sununu's ouster
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Anmonon
distressed babies DO SOMETHING???? If a person walking by the car noticed the
baby crying in severe distress he/she should of gotten help immediately. As
for the parents...god knows we Are dumb in these parts. I'm from LA too, but
this is too much.
Evlart/Anmonon
kathleen flick
was reflecting off the windows.
I think it would be a good idea to take a look into
cars parked around yours at the 7-Eleven, etc. just to
make sure some dimwit hasn't left a child inside.
And if you live in a place where people leave abandoned
cars (I do), hassle the city to tow 'em away before a
child gets trapped inside.
Kathleen
left...@my-dejanews.com
kfl...@mail.msy.bellsouth.net wrote:
> Maybe people just don't look into cars.=A0 Maybe the sun
> was reflecting off the windows.
I do. I notice dogs inside hot cars -- they're more likely to be left for long
periods of time than kids. And of course, people think dogs are immune from
needing air, so they feel fine leaving the windows shut tight.
I got into it once with a woman who sat leisurely having her hair cut while
her adorable Brittany spaniel was swealtering in the direct sun, in an old
Mercedes with its window cracked a fraction of an inch. She was defensive as
can be, alternating between swearing out her love for her dog and telling me
I "didn't have to be so rude about it." I told her, basically, that I'm long
past caring what she thinks of me, but that she needs to get her ass out
there and give that living creature some air.
I swear, the defensiveness is more maddening than anything.
Debby Sobwick
the door
locks<G> Debby
S<sarg...@injersey.com>