Young boys die after
being left in locked car in Southern California heat 
Tuesday, July 8, 2003 
(07-08) 17:55 PDT LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) --
Two young boys died Tuesday
after being locked in a sport utility vehicle in sweltering heat, authorities
said.
The boys, ages 3 and 5, were found by Los
Angeles County sheriff's deputies around 2 p.m. in a Cadillac Escalade parked
in the driveway of a day care center in this high desert town.
One boy was dead and the second died a
short time later at a hospital, Sgt. Paul Patterson said.
Authorities did not immediately know the
location of the children's parents.
KABC-TV reported that the car was parked at
A Child's Place daycare center. A woman who answered the phone number listed
for the center declined to comment.
Afternoon temperatures hovered around 100
degrees in Lancaster, about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. But Patterson said
the temperature inside a closed car could soar much higher.
"It can exceed 120 degrees, and once
it gets above that a car is uninhabitable," he said.
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CALIFORNIA
2
Children Left in Hot Vehicle Die
The
boys were forgotten for five hours in an SUV outside a Lancaster day-care
center. They were the foster sons of the facility's owner.
By Wendy Thermos and Monte Morin
Times Staff Writers
July 9, 2003
Two children died of heat exposure Tuesday when they were left for five hours
in a sport utility vehicle outside a day-care center in Lancaster as
temperatures reached 100 degrees, authorities said.
The boys, 3 and 5, were the foster children of the day-care center's owner,
Leslie Smoot, who at first told police that a miscommunication led to their
being left in the Cadillac Escalade.
"She indicated she thought someone else would take them out of the
vehicle," said Sheriff's Lt. Al Grotefend. Later, he said, "She
indicated that she forgot to take them out of the car." He said that
Smoot, 48, was "distraught, hysterical."
Emergency crews were called to A Child's Place at the corner of Fig and J
avenues at 2 p.m. When they arrived, the children had been moved to a rear
patio area of the center.
The older boy was dead. The younger one died half an hour later at Antelope
Valley Medical Center, according to the Sheriff's Department.
Smoot told deputies that she and the boys had arrived at the center she runs
with her husband about 9 a.m. She was unsure, she initially said, about whether
she had thought her husband or an employee would bring the boys inside,
Grotefend said. She returned to the car five hours later and discovered the
bodies on the floor, he said. The older boy apparently had unstrapped the
younger one from his car seat.
Smoot was taken to the sheriff's Lancaster station
Tuesday night. Investigators were continuing to question her because of her
conflicting explanations of the incident, Grotefend said. He said it was
unclear whether she would face criminal charges, which could range from child
endangerment to manslaughter.
Her biological child and another foster child were
removed from her custody, Grotefend said.
Employees at the center would not talk about what had happened.
"We're dealing with a terrible tragedy here," said a woman who
answered the telephone at the day-care center. "We're not giving stories
to anybody."
Michelle Loar, a former neighbor who happened to be visiting a friend several
doors away, said, "It's so preventable. It's just crazy to leave your kids
in a car in the middle of summer."
Next-door neighbor Eldrin Waid, 67, described the owners of the day-care center
as close friends and "real nice people" and said that they "take
the kids out of the car every day the very first thing after they arrive."
The SUV was parked in a lot about 40 feet from the center, a converted single-family
home of yellow stucco with a bright green door. Several trees rise more than 30
feet in the tidy frontyard, but the shade does not reach the parking lot, which
can accommodate about 20 cars.
During the day, about 35 children attend the center, which operates around the
clock and is co-owned by Smoot's husband, Larry. It was closed after the
deaths.
Naeenah Edwards, 23, of Lancaster said her daughter has attended for three
years but "is not going back."
The deaths were the first reported cases of hyperthermia in Southern California
this year, according to 4 R Kids Sake, a nonprofit organization in Corona that
tracks incidents of hyperthermia and promotes awareness of its risks.
"Summer brings the worst of these cases," said Laura Petersen, the group's
co-founder. "The majority of them occur in July and August."
Last July, a 3-year-old Fontana girl was found dead in her father's van after
he left her unattended for about four hours in 102-degree heat. The father had
unloaded groceries and fallen asleep in the house.
The same week, a Hacienda Heights woman left her 4-month-old son in a car for
more than seven hours. He died.
Last June, a 5-month-old San Francisco girl died in a car when her grandfather
forgot her.
In 2001, a Simi Valley woman was sentenced to a year in county jail after her
sons, a 3-year-old and a 13-month-old, died in a sweltering van in the family's
driveway. Marlene Heath, 40, had fallen asleep in the house after drinking
wine. Also that year, a 3-year-old died in Rialto after her foster mother left
her in the car.
A study conducted by San Francisco State
University's department of geosciences found that when cars are in direct
sunlight, temperatures inside can increase more than 50 degrees within an hour
and reach 140 degrees when the outside temperature is 96.
It is illegal in California to leave a child age 6 or under unattended in a
vehicle.
According to the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety and 4 R Kids Sake, at
least 30 children died last year from heat stroke when they became trapped or
were left in parked cars.
If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives.
Los Angeles Daily News
Kids die from heat in SUV
Toddlers left in vehicle at day care center
Wednesday, July
09, 2003 - LANCASTER -- Two boys, ages 3 and 5, died Tuesday inside a luxury
sport utility vehicle parked in 100-degree heat outside a Lancaster preschool,
sheriff's deputies said.
The unidentified 5-year-old was
pronounced dead at the scene, outside A Child's Place, and the 3-year-old was
taken to Antelope Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"Sadly this happens, if not here,
somewhere in the county at the start of every summer," Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department Deputy Mark Round said. "People forget just how hot
it gets in closed vehicles and how fast this can happen."
It was 99 degrees in Lancaster when the
2:15 p.m. call came in to sheriff's deputies. Officials estimated the children
may have been in the SUV for about an hour.
The 2000 Cadillac Escalade remained
parked outside the school as parents, who were notified to come pick up their
children, arrived to take them home.
The guardian of the two dead boys was
still inside the school, officials said.
Round said these were the first
heat-related deaths in a vehicle that he could recall in the Antelope Valley.
A California nonprofit children's
advocacy group, 4 R Kids' Sake, reported that 30 children died last year after
being left in cars.
The preschool and day care center, on Fig
Avenue about eight years, was not accepting phone calls Tuesday.
Two boys die in locked SUV at day care
center
Tuesday, July 08,
2003 –
Two children who were left in their
parents' locked-up Cadillac Escalade outside a day care facility in Lancaster
died Tuesday, a sheriff's sergeant said.
According to ABC7, the vehicle was found
in the driveway of A Child's Place at 44405 Fig Ave.
Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Patterson said one of
the boys was pronounced dead at the scene about 2 p.m., and the other died
later at Antelope Valley Medical Center.
He said the boys were left in the SUV,
with the windows rolled up, as the temperature approached nearly 100 degrees.
Inland
Valley Daily Bulletin
2 boys left in locked vehicle die
Tuesday, July 08,
2003 –
LANCASTER - Two young boys died Tuesday,
left unattended for more than five hours in 100-degree heat in a locked
Cadillac Escalade parked outside the day-care center their foster mother owns,
authorities said.
The foster mother told homicide detectives
she arrived at A Child's Place between 8:30 and 9 a.m., and thought somebody
else had brought the boys, ages 3 and 5, in to play for the day.
"She indicated she thought someone
else was going to get the children out of the car, possibly her husband,"
said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Al Grotefend. "There was some
miscommunication."
The woman discovered the boys about 2
p.m., when she returned to her locked SUV, Grotefend said.
Frantic, she pulled the children out of
the car to a patio area. The 5-year-old had died; a day-care worker attempted
to revive the younger child, who was pronounced dead later at Antelope Valley
Hospital.
The boys had been strapped into car
seats, although Grotefend speculated that the 5-year-old might have gotten out
of his seat but was unable to work the childproof locks in the SUV.
The temperature in Lancaster hit 103 on
Tuesday, which means it could have reached 120 degrees inside the vehicle,
officials said.
"Sadly this happens, if not here,
somewhere in the county at the start of every summer," Deputy Mark Round
said. "People forget just how hot it gets in closed vehicles and how fast
this can happen."
The silver Escalade was registered to
Leslie Sue Smoot of Lancaster. Friends and parents who gathered said she owned
the 24-hour day-care center.
One man who identified himself only as a
close family friend said Smoot had two grown children of her own and had cared
for foster children for more than 20 years.
The man said Smoot bought the Escalade
because she wanted extra room to take her foster children and others she cared
for to church.
Department of Children and Family
Services Director David Sanders confirmed that the two dead boys were foster
children.
"The air went out of me when I heard
this," Sanders said. "It's an absolute tragedy. It's hard to express
the sorrow about this. It's just horrible."
Sanders said the DCFS will investigate
the deaths.
"The idea of two children who appear
to have died completely needlessly is just terribly tragic," Sanders said.
Sheriff Lee Baca said it's inconceivable
that a foster parent or guardian would leave children in a vehicle unattended.
"Vehicles are not playpens,"
Baca said. "Vehicles are not baby-sitters. And vehicles, when they are not
properly ventilated, are death traps.
"Whoever did this will be arrested
and charged with child endangerment and, conceivably, charged with
manslaughter, at a minimum."
The 2000 SUV remained parked outside the
school as parents, who were notified to come and pick up their children,
arrived to take them home. Sheriff's deputies shielded the panicked parents
from the gathering crowd.
Round said these were the first
heat-related deaths in a vehicle that he could recall in the High Desert
community
.
A California nonprofit children's
advocacy group, 4 R Kids' Sake, reported that 30 children died last year after
being left in cars.
Greg Botonis can be reached by e-mail atGreg.Botonis@dailynews.com
or by phone at (661) 267-7802
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Woman Arrested in Deaths of 2 Young Boys
By Associated Press
July 9, 2003, 6:42 AM EDT
LANCASTER, Calif. -- The foster mother of two young boys who died after being
left five hours in a sweltering sport utility vehicle was arrested for
investigation of child endangerment.
Leslie Sue Smoot, 48, was booked late Tuesday night and held on $100,000 bail.
No court date was scheduled.
Sheriff Lee Baca said earlier Tuesday that those responsible for leaving the
children in the car would be charged with child endangerment and possibly
manslaughter.
"Vehicles are not playpens," he said. "Vehicles are not baby
sitters. And vehicles, when they are not properly ventilated, are death
traps."
Smoot told authorities she left the boys, ages 3 and 5, in the car around 9
a.m. outside A Child's Place Daycare, which she ran.
"She indicated she thought someone else was going to get the children out
of the car, possibly her husband," Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Al
Grotefend said. "There was some miscommunication."
Smoot told investigators she discovered the boys in their car seats when she
returned in the afternoon and pulled them from the vehicle.
The 5-year-old was dead. His brother, who was severely dehydrated, died a short
time later at a hospital, sheriff's Sgt. Paul Patterson said.
Afternoon temperatures hovered around 100 degrees in the high desert town about
70 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
Officials from the Department of Children and Family Services said they will
investigate.
A woman who answered the phone at A Child's Place Daycare declined to comment.
Friends and parents gathered Tuesday at the 24-hour day care center.
Naeemah Edwards, whose daughter attended the center, told KABC-TV she was
shocked.
"They come in with my daughter, and they play together," she said,
adding that she would not let her child to return to the center.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated
Press
July 9, 2003
California Heat Kills 2 Children Left in Car
LANCASTER,
Calif. (AP) - Two young boys died Tuesday after being locked for five hours in
a sport utility vehicle in sweltering heat outside a day care center,
authorities said.
The boys, ages 3 and 5, were found by sheriff's deputies around 2
p.m. in the driveway of the day care center.
The 5-year-old was dead. His brother, who was severely dehydrated,
died a short time later at a hospital, sheriff's Sgt. Paul Patterson said.
The boys recently were placed in the foster care of the woman who
ran the center and were inside her car, authorities said. She had not been
charged as of Tuesday evening.
The woman, whose identity was not released, told authorities that
she left the children in the car at around 9 a.m.
A woman who answered the phone at A Child's Place Daycare declined
to comment.
Afternoon temperatures hovered around 100 degrees in Lancaster, a
high desert town about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. But Patterson said the
temperature inside a closed car could have exceeded 120 degrees.
Arrest Made in Heat Deaths Case
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LANCASTER — The foster mother of two
young boys who died after being locked in an SUV in sweltering heat in
Lancaster, has been arrested.
Forty-eight-year-old Leslie Smoot was
booked late last night for investigation of child endangerment. She is being
held on 100-thousand dollars bail.
Authorities say Smoot ran A Child's Place
Daycare center, which is where the car was parked.
Smoot told authorities she left the boys,
ages 3 and 5, in the car around 9 a-m yesterday morning. She apparently thought
someone else was going to get the children out of the car, possibly her
husband.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies
found the children around two in the afternoon.
One boy was dead and the second died a
short time later at a hospital.
Last Updated: Jul 9, 2003
Los
Angeles Daily News
Funeral
set for brothers locked in SUV
Monday, July 14, 2003 –
LANCASTER -- A funeral has been scheduled
for the two young brothers who died last week from being left for more than
five hours in an SUV in the desert sun.
The service for Dakota Prince, 5, and his
3-year-old brother, Nehemiah, is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at Spalding Mortuary,
3045 S. La Brea Ave. in Los Angeles.
Burial will follow at Holy Cross
Cemetery, 5835 W. Slauson Ave., Culver City.
The boys' mother, Twila Prince, "is
as well as could be expected considering what has happened," said friend
Danida Shamburger.
The two women met Saturday in Lancaster
and went to the day-care center owned by the boys' foster mother. There, Prince
picked some toys left by mourners at a makeshift memorial to put in the boys'
caskets, Shamburger said.
The boys died July 8 after being locked
in Leslie Smoot's Cadillac Escalade outside her day-care center.
Smoot, 48, was arrested on suspicion of
felony child endangerment and was freed after posting $100,000 bail. Her
arraignment is scheduled for July 30.
Shamburger said she has set up a bank
account through Washington Mutual for people to donate money to help Prince
cover funeral expenses. The account number is 0920578286.
Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro@dailynews.com