Father Forgot Twins in Hot Car

Juan Rodriguez experienced every parent’s worst nightmare. He drove to work and forgot his one-year-old twins in his hot car, causing them to pass away. Understandably, Mr. Rodriguez is overcome with grief and struggles to grasp how he could do such a thing.

What we know about the tragedy

On Friday, Mr. Rodriguez left his house to go to the James J. Peters V.A. Medical Center, where he works as a social worker. He had his twins and four-year-old son in the car with him. He dropped off his four year old, but forgot to take his twins to day care.

He worked his entire shift at the hospital and didn’t realize his twins were still in his hot car until he was driving home. It was an 86-degree day, which means the car could’ve reached 115 degrees within just 20 minutes. A medical examiner determined that the twins had a body temperature of 108 degrees at the time of their passing.

His friend, Alfredo Angueira, says that Mr. Rodriguez had actually believed he had dropped his twins off before going to work. Now, the 22-year veteran of the National Guard is being charged with two counts of manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminally negligent homicide.

According to Jan Null, a meteorologist at San Jose State University, 795 children died of heatstroke in cars between 1998 and 2018. Of these children, his research indicates that 54% were forgotten by caregivers, 26% were trapped after getting inside the cars on their own, and 19% were left in cars knowingly.

Leaving children in cars is dangerous, even when the outside temperature is in the 60s. Make sure you devise a plan that helps you remember your children are in the car, such as always placing a shoe or purse by your children.

News Source: The New York Times