I get so frustrated seeing children left in the car while parents run errands or whatever. The thing that gets me about this story is that they arrested the tow truck driver for child endangerment. Was he not just doing his job? In Texas, leaving your child in the car is a misdemenor crime if the child is under seven. This child was exactly seven so I guess that is why they did not prosecute the mother. But I still feel it should have been the mother's responsibility to make sure her son was safe.
<I>Jio parked her car in a fire lane while she ran upstairs to her apartment. She left her 7-year-old son, Sergio, asleep in the backseat of the car. When Jio came back downstairs, her car and her son were both gone. Her first thought was, "that someone had stolen my car," she said. "I didn't think I was going to see him again."</I>
<I>Neighbors alerted Jio that her car had actually been towed. She called the police and, after several minutes of panic, the tow truck driver returned with Sergio still sleeping in the car.</I>
cbs11tv.com - Dallas Child Sleeps In Car As It Is Towed Away
<I>* Leaving a child in a vehicle is punishable under the Texas Penal Code, Title 5, Chapter 22, Section 10 ¤ 22.10. LEAVING A CHILD IN A VEHICLE. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly leaves a child in a motor vehicle for longer than five minutes, knowing that the child is: (1) younger than seven years of age; and (2) not attended by an individual in the vehicle who is 14 years of age or older. (b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. Note: If the child is injured, the charge is then elevated to child endangerment, which is a felony. The penalties are six months to two years in jail and a fine up to $10,000.</I>
DFPS - Look Before You Leave and save the life of a child
<I>Jio parked her car in a fire lane while she ran upstairs to her apartment. She left her 7-year-old son, Sergio, asleep in the backseat of the car. When Jio came back downstairs, her car and her son were both gone. Her first thought was, "that someone had stolen my car," she said. "I didn't think I was going to see him again."</I>
<I>Neighbors alerted Jio that her car had actually been towed. She called the police and, after several minutes of panic, the tow truck driver returned with Sergio still sleeping in the car.</I>
cbs11tv.com - Dallas Child Sleeps In Car As It Is Towed Away
<I>* Leaving a child in a vehicle is punishable under the Texas Penal Code, Title 5, Chapter 22, Section 10 ¤ 22.10. LEAVING A CHILD IN A VEHICLE. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly leaves a child in a motor vehicle for longer than five minutes, knowing that the child is: (1) younger than seven years of age; and (2) not attended by an individual in the vehicle who is 14 years of age or older. (b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. Note: If the child is injured, the charge is then elevated to child endangerment, which is a felony. The penalties are six months to two years in jail and a fine up to $10,000.</I>
DFPS - Look Before You Leave and save the life of a child