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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Child left alone
in SUV prompts
call to policeQuestion: Auwe to the woman who left her baby unattended in a sport utility vehicle in the Pearl City Daiei parking lot on Sunday, June 15. The windows were rolled down one inch, and the baby was sleeping in his car seat with no one in attendance. It was hot that day, and the temperature was probably 85 degrees outside. I called 911 and reported this unattended child. While I waited about five minutes, a lady and another child came from the store with a grocery cart and started to load the car. I approached her and stated that she left her child unattended. She said, "I'm sorry," and proceeded to load her car and then drove off. HPD hadn't come by then, and I reported that the driver left. Can you warn your readers about the dangers of leaving children alone in a vehicle?
Answer: You did the right thing by calling police.
The Pearl City Police Station did send an officer to investigate, albeit not in time to witness the situation, according to a police lieutenant at the station.
Although Hawaii does not specifically have a law against leaving a child unattended in a vehicle, a criminal charge could be lodged depending on the circumstances, he said.
Endangering the welfare of a minor is one possible charge. But there are many factors to be considered, he said, including the age of the child, if the child were left in the company of another child, if the vehicle were left under a hot sun, whether the windows were rolled down, etc. -- basically, anything "that would indicate crime or no crime."
Child Protective Services also may get involved, but even if there is no criminal offense, at least the child is cared for. "That's the bottom line," the police official said. "Better safe than sorry."
We found a lot of helpful and interesting information from Kids in Cars, a nonprofit organization based in St. Louis that is "dedicated to the prevention of injuries and deaths due to children being left unattended in or around motor vehicles."
The organization was founded by Terrill Struttmann, executive director, and his wife, Michele, after their 2-year-old son, Harrison, was killed on May 30, 1998. Michele and Harrison were sitting on a bench at a park overlooking the Missouri River when a van carrying two children, ages 2 and 3, rolled uncontrolled through the park, striking them both. The toddlers had been left unattended in the van, which was running on idle, when one of them shifted it into gear. Their mother had been warned not to leave them unattended in the van just weeks before.
Michele was badly injured and is still recovering from her injuries.
"There are so many dangers to a child -- it's never safe to leave them alone inside a vehicle," Terrill Struttmann said in a telephone interview last week.
In addition to the possibility of setting a vehicle in motion or heat exhaustion, there's also the danger of abduction, hypothermia, trunk entrapment and a child getting out of the vehicle.
In a case such as the one you cited, it's not safe to leave children (or pets) with windows slightly open in warm weather because temperatures inside can rise quickly -- 10 to 15 minutes -- to fatal levels.
If you find an unattended child, Kids in Cars advises you to stay with the child if you can, then call 911 if the responsible party doesn't return within five minutes (sooner if there is imminent danger).
Struttmann said his organization has four main objectives. One is to raise public awareness.
A second is to pass preventative legislation, where "we don't want to lock parents or caregivers up, but to send them a message that it's not acceptable to leave children in a vehicle," he said. Stronger laws would also give law enforcement a tool to work with it, such as seat belt and child safety seat laws.
According to Kids in Cars, there are nine states with laws against leaving a child unattended, and eight with proposed laws. Two states have laws regarding an injury or fatality caused when a child is left unattended.
A third objective of the organization is product redesign, such as mandatory brake-shift interlocks, in which a person has to have his foot on the brake before the vehicle can be shifted into gear. Struttmann noted that that's been mandated on all passenger cars since 1993 but not for minivans, SUVs and trucks.
A fourth objective is to create and maintain a national database. "There is no state or federal agency that is currently tracking how often children are injured or killed because they're left alone in or around vehicles," Struttmann said. "Our organization is one of very few that's actually tracking this."
So far this year, Kids in Cars has documented 188 incidents nationally of children being left unattended in or around vehicles, 41 of them resulting in deaths. In 2002 it found 434 incidents involving 591 victims and 113 deaths. Of the 113 deaths, 30 children died of heat stroke.
Kids in Cars is funded through donations, grants, fund-raisers and corporate sponsorships. For more information, to purchase educational materials or to make a donation, check the Web site www.kidsincars.org; write to Kids in Cars, 918 Glenn Ave., Washington, MO 63090; phone 636-390-8268; or fax 636-390-9412.
Of Kids in Cars, Struttmann noted, "It's not a very nice way of becoming an expert on an issue, but it was a choice my wife and I made (because) we don't want Harrison's death to go in vain. We're trying to pull anything positive out of it that we can."
Q: Going up Aiea Heights Drive, just before 99-1549 Aiea Heights Drive, there is a section without guardrails. Previously, trees were there blocking the gully, but the trees have been cut and left to dry. Right now, there is potential for someone to fall over. Dead branches are also a fire hazard. The trees prevented some erosion of the road, but now, I am fearful of erosion. Who is responsible for this section? Is it private or is it the city?
A: The city Department of Planning & Permitting checked the area and determined that the trees that were cut are on private property, which slopes down toward Aiea Stream.
The cuttings were left on the sloped portion of the property, which is heavily forested.
According to DPP, the owner is responsible and liable for any subsequent erosion that may affect other property owners. The owner cannot be cited for cutting down his/her own trees.
If any erosion occurs and affects the abutting property owner, it will be a civil matter between the two owners, DPP officials said.
Meanwhile, the possibility of installing a guardrail in the unimproved sidewalk area was referred to the Department of Design & Construction for consideration.
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