A tragedy

[pegkerr]

This story--and especially the picture of the father--absolutely broke my heart.

I can't give the family anything but heartfelt sympathy. Every parent knows how thin the line is that we walk between life as usual and making a mistake that has consequences you will never recover from.

I hope that their family stays intact after this tragedy, and may God be with them as they mourn their loss.

Edited to add: I cross posted this in badparents here and it has generated a large amount of comments, if people would like to see what others are saying.

Comments

[ceilidh]

I feel awful for them... but I just don't understand how someone could forget where their child is. I routinely have parents who forget to pick up their children after school... 'Oh, I forgot to pick her up.' How??? I can't comprehend it at all.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

Dear gods... that's just awful.

[kishmish.livejournal.com]

That's so utterly sad. God, it's scary how much responsibility there is in something so common as having a child. Or is it scarier that something with so much responsibility is so common?

Wow...

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

Oh, gads... I flashed onto something that happened to my brother, Jeff & his wife a few years back. They're dairy farmers, and after school their two boys would spend the afternoon with their maternal grandma (she and Carrie's dad both live on the farm). Anyway, the kids decided to go back to their house, sneak into my brother's office, get at his guns, load them... That's when Jeff walked in. He was so upset with himself - he'd had the door locked, but it was only with a "eye-hook" set up that he'd thought was safe because it was well over the boy's heads, plus the safeties were on, and they were unloaded...

Anyway, he got rid of all the guns but one.

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

I am not a parent, first off, so I don't know what it's like, but all of the parents I do know have their kids' car seats in the back seat, so that they can glance in the rear view mirror and check on them. It's hard to believe he drove all the way to work, never once looking in the rearview mirror, nor even looking at the car when he locked it and walked away. I feel bad for him, yes, and I know that divorce is very, very common after the death of a child, but if you're that sleep-deprived, then maybe you shouldn't be driving in the first place.

[kiwiria.livejournal.com]

I looked at the picture, and had to close the link without reading anything other than the headline. It broke my heart, and it scared me, because I can too easily see how it could happen. I'm going to have nightmares about this.

[vass]

*mourns*

This is why I'd make a terrible mother. I mean, leaving aside all the emotional issues, but it's all I can do to remember to feed myself and my pets, and make sure they have water and clean shelter. Something as fragile and helpless and complex in its needs as a human infant? I couldn't do it, and I greatly admire those who can.

That poor, poor man.

[mareklamo.livejournal.com]

There are too many stories like this. Which leads me to wonder if it is possible to have some sort of mechanical device that will remind you "BABY STILL IN CAR". Some kind of switch that sets itself automatically. Humans are fallible - technology can help.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I agree; I completely understand it happening.

What's interesting to me is how this is a side-effect of another safety measure. Babies are not supposed to be strapped into the front passenger seat; it's too dangerous for them up there. So they're in the back, where they're easier to forget.

Now I don't mean to imply that putting the back is a mistake--the risk of accidents is far greater than the risk of forgetting--but it is interesting how protecting against one threat exacerbates another.

B