As the summer months arrive, the outside temperatures have taken a turn upwards, especially across the southern US. Every year at this time, we hear stories of children who die after being left in hot cars; last year alone there a reported 24 children were the victims of hot car deaths.
These deaths were mainly caused by the carelessness of the children’s guardians, but how does the law determine whether to rule a hot car death an accident or a homicide?
State Laws
Each state has its own laws put into place for dealing with hot car deaths and child negligence within vehicles. In the state of Florida, it’s illegal to leave a child under the age of six alone inside a car for more than fifteen minutes. If conditions are severe enough that a child is in danger from being left inside a car, regardless of age or length of time, leaving the child unattended is considered a state law violation, and perpetrators may be fined.
Accident or Homicide
There are no set rules or state laws that govern whether or not a child’s hot car death will be labeled an accident or homicide. Each case is unique and considered as such by officials when deciding. However, investigations of hot car deaths are taken seriously, and all resources are used when gathering evidence to determine whether the death was caused by negligence or if malicious intent led to the child’s death.
According to CNN legal analyst Paul Callan, the law “generally does not punish for accidental events absent of evidence of gross negligence, recklessness, or a depraved indifference to the value of human life.” Investigations that lead to case evidence suggesting malevolence are the cases that the state attorney may choose to press homicide charges toward.
For example, back in 2014 a 22-month-old passed away after being left in a hot car in Georgia. His father has been charged with felony murder because the investigation revealed evidence suggesting that the negligence may have been intentional.
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