[07/03/07]ROLLING FORK - A toddler
died here Monday after he was left in a van that ferried him
and other children to a summer program offered by Mississippi
Christian Family Services.
Although an autopsy on the
body of 19-month-old Kaleb Johnson was planned for tonight,
Sharkey County Coroner Ola Mae Holmes ruled the child died of
exposure to extreme heat as the temperature climbed to 91
degrees in the Delta.
Kaleb, the son of Kenya Johnson and Robert
Brady of Glen Allan, was found at about 3 p.m., and his body
was first taken to Sharkey-Issaquena Community Hospital in
Rolling Fork where about 50 people gathered, asked questions
and mourned.
“We want to know why - why was he left on
that bus?” asked Ivory Brady, Kaleb's grandmother.
At
about 5 p.m., officers with the Sharkey and Issaquena county
sheriff's departments and Rolling Fork police waited for
officials at the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, who
will investigate the case. Delores Lewis, a spokesman for the
Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said no information
was available this morning. No charges had been
filed.
Outside the hospital, Kaleb's godmother, Annette
Spand, held back tears as she pointed out Kaleb's pacifier on
a string around her neck.
“I was in Vicksburg shopping
for him when (his mother) called,” she said. “She said
something was wrong, but she thought he was all
right.”
According to family members, the day started
out like any other. Kaleb's brother, 10-year-old Kenneth,
watched as his little brother was strapped into his car seat
on the van that would take him and other small children to the
center.
“He was playing this morning,” Kenneth
said.
Spand and others said while all the other
children were unstrapped and removed from the bus that arrived
at about 9, Kaleb was left inside.
According to family
and friends, when an employee, who was not named, went back to
load the children back into the van at the end of the day,
Kaleb was found in his seat. There were indications the
toddler had tried to free himself from the seat.
“He
fought for his life and scratched himself,” Spand said. “He
was a fighter.”
Emotions heightened as the crowd
continued to wait. At about 6:30, Kaleb's mother exited the
hospital and fell into the arms of others who had
gathered.
Speculation as to why Kaleb was left in the
bus after all the other children played safely inside the
center loomed over the parking lot.
“How can you forget
from 9 to 3?” asked family friend Monica Griffin, whose
daughter had been in the van with Kaleb that
morning.
Mississippi Christian Family Services is an
early intervention program administered by the Mississippi
Department of Mental Health. The program, which serves
Issaquena and Sharkey counties, is designed for children with
developmental disabilities and their families, according to
the agency's Web site. Its purpose is to enhance the
development of infants, toddlers and young children with
disabilities or children who are at risk for developing
disabilities.
Holmes did not know this morning whether
funeral arrangements for Kaleb had been made and was unsure
which funeral home would have charge. She said the town
continues to grieve.
“It was the most horrific thing.
It hurt me - it still hurts,” she said. “It's such a sad, sad
thing.”