If he is 22 months he was a one year old. You have to be 24 months old to become a 2 year old.

I am sorry for the family's loss and for the lady who hit him. It's hard to see backing up and that is a horrible thing for all concerned.

Don't knock SUV's for being big. A 22 month old child would not be seen standing behind a Honda Fit or VW Beetle either.

Such a sad thing to happen. Nothing can fix what has happened here. Enough, 10tacle I'm not trying to be rube by saying this but if you have nothing else to do but insult or bring politics into something that doesn't even concern the article itself please leave. (Enough I read your comment and I know you had read the article but still leave.) Thank you both and have a nice day.

I usually refrain from 'wow!' and 'really?' because they are so overused, but...

Wow! Really?! Pretty cold to bash the driver and the child; the child

The person to blame here is the mother. What the hell was she thinking letting her small child walk around a parking lot?! I've seen it too many times.

Don't blame the SUV or it's driver blame the mother of the child she was the one not making sure her child was safe.

"The boy's mother was nearby, outside her vehicle when the incident happened."

Nearby outside her vehicle was not being in control of her toddler child.

Again whenever I don't revise what I type this always happens. Rude*

Comment 1.8 continued. Sorry, my lazy thumbs posted before I was finished.

The child's death is punishment enough for both the mother and the driver. Accidents that lead to tragedy can happen to anyone, anytime. If parents watch their child every moment they are called helicopter parents for hovering anxiously. If they relax and look away for one moment, they are negligent. I'm sure both women 'learned their lesson.'

Sympathy to all involved. May you find peace.

2Sense= Agreed, except one thing. I have a 22 month old, a 3 year old, and older kids. Parking lots are not an area that they walk without holding someones hand.

That said- It is a very sad tragedy.

RIP little one, thoughts and prayers for the family.

I want to know why the mother did not have the child right there with her. Say all you want about the big bad SUV, but the mother should have had the child right beside her holding onto him. Why investigate for alcohol and investigate the SUV? That child should not have been near it without a parent. The driver would more than likely have seen the parent or the parent would have gotten him/herself out of the way, unlike the toddler.

Ok Folks...let's get this striaght. A SUV does not have a brain..it did not kill that poor child. It sounds like an accident & I'm sure the driver & the unattentive mom are both suffering.

Whether the driver was driving a VW Bug or a Hummer...the accident was bound to happen because of logistics.

It's even more tragic how MSNBC carefully words the accident to sound like an SUV killed that toddler.

Evil big oil companies & gas guzzlers...more subliminal messages.

Would all you SUV haters feel better if the kid had been run over by a Volt.

Stull (#1.9): You must not have any children. It's not fair to blame the mother either. No matter how closely you watch your children, you can't be right behind them every second; they are incredibly fast and even a split second glance away can mean a 10 to 15 foot start, ESPECIALLY at 22 months. To combat that problem, I had a "monkey backpack" (aka leash) for my children, and was criticized for that just as I would have been for NOT having it.

had-enough (#1.2) and hotticket (#1.5): SUVs aren't the problem. Blind spots are the problem, which happen to be on every single car, truck, and SUV out there. This was a teeny little person, good luck seeing him UNLESS the driver was on a motorcycle.

This is simply my opinion, but I believe very vehicle should have a rear camera for backing up, as well as the alert when there is something in the way; it should not just be a luxury feature on expensive vehicles.

2-Sense, the child's death is not punishment. It is a horrible tragedy for both mothers. The mother of the child should have been more responsible, the mother driving the suv has no fault what so ever in the accident. I cannot even imagine the way that poor mother feels, how horrible would it be to hit and kill a toddler because of someone else's negligence. For anyone to blame the driver, or the fact that she was driving an suv is totally irresponsible and just a way to try and put politics into the story. It would not have mattered if she was driving a smart car, she still would not have seen the child and still would have run that baby over. The mother of the child was totally at fault because of her negligence, how horrible for her to have to live with that.

Also I am not surprised it's a SUV... Inheritably dangerous.

Let me see if I follow your logic. It is the responsibility of an "inheritably dangerous" SUV driver to compensate for a neglectful mother.

What ever happened to a mother watching their one year old instead of being "nearby" while walking through a parking lot?

Granted vehicle drivers are responsible for being aware of their surroundings. But it is impossible to know when a nearby mother is being neglectful by not watching her kids. As for SUV being inheritably dangerous they are not inherently dangerous or they wouldn't be allowed on the streets.

It is easy to lose sight of a child in the backyard or in the house or even a department store...but IN a high school parking lot during a softball game? How many people let a 12 or 22 month old or even a nine-yr-old run around in a parking lot with cars entering and leaving?

Common sense please!

Castigate the mother all you want folks. When you're done, go spend some time parked at a school.

I live across the street from a school and it is the worst place I have ever lived for traffic. I don't mean volume and busses. That is to be expected.

What I see every day is recklessness, speeding, zero attention ~ nearly all drivers are yapping on cell phones ~ and no observation of simple courtesies let alone the Rules of the Road. I have seen :

• a mother (yes, I know her)whip around a car legally stopped at a marked crosswalk protected by a stop sign from which children had just alighted the kids were in the marked crosswalk but the twit who nearly hit them was late for work as is her norm
• on the other hand, I have seen parents stop immediately outside the school door, which is illegal, so their little darlings don't have to walk 15 feet from the zone that is designated and well marked as a drop-off zone for kids
• what I presume are teen sisters and brothers blowing stop signs and showing off their skills at reckless driving most of them are driving gas-guzzling full-sized pick-ups or big SUVs
• drivers of all stripe tearing through this school zone while there are kids all over trying to use the crossing safety zones, get their bicycles safely on the street etc

I think this is happening for at least 2 reasons : we have entered a time of extreme selfishness in which all that matters is me, my, and mine and some (many?) police departments refuse to patrol school zones why they refuse is beyond my understanding.

That child would be alive if a driver had observed a common sense rule we were taught in drivers' ed : assume there are children around schools ~ including school parking lots, when a ball rolls into the street or toys are visible, where there are dogs.

Rest in peace little one and I hope mom and driver can find some peace and comfort.

It is not a question of the car. Children that age should not be walking a parking lot without being attached to an adult. My kids know the rules. They do not get out of the car or walk onto a parking lot without holding my hands or my wife's hands. I open the doors and I hold their hands until we step onto a safe area where vehicles do not operate. Drivers can not see the short ones so they need to be attached to an adult. Children also have no notion of danger or how hard objects are.

A child unattended in a parking lot is negligence. We can pin this one squarely on mom.

If this child had been in harness on leash, it would never have happened. We can't always see everything and be everywhere. I've seen children yank their hand free and run into the street. It happens too fast to even react, let alone stop them. The leash prevents them going more than 5 feet in any direction. I've taken 2 toddlers to the mall many, many times. Leashes guaranteed they stayed with me, didn't bother other shoppers, and didn't run off.

Yes I got some dirty looks; some comments about treating children like dogs... Who cares! (Those people are always the first ones to say nasty things about negligent mothers, too...)(and I never saw a single one of them ever again.)

The safety of my children was my priority, and I achieved it. No helicopter, no worry. They're in their late teens now, and don't even remember the leashes. They just remember a safe, happy childhood. And I remember being relaxed about being in public with my children, knowing they were safely in my control even if they didn't want to hold my hand.

This had nothing to with an SUV, simply because there are very few vehicles you could see a 22 month old child had one wandered behind. It's a sad and tragic event that could have been prevented had the mother been a little more attentive to her young child.

Reckless, inattentive and dangerous driving isn't isolated to larger vehicles. Stupidity behind the wheel has nothing to do with the vehicle, it's specific to the driver. During my daily commute, I've witnessed people stopped at a green light (she apparently was more interested in her morning coffee). I've seen people crossing the center line multiple times, thinking they were drunk, only to find they were on a cell call. While getting on the freeway, I was behind a Prius. He never got over 45 mph. His cell call must have been very important. I've seen drivers doing their makeup while headed to work. Then there was the teenager that spend more time talking to her passenger then worrying about the road. There are angry drivers that need to weave in and out of traffic. The list goes on. Never once did I think "Oh my that is an evil gas guzzling SUV doing that!" I have thought, "that driver is an idiot."

The bottom line is that the parent needs to supervise their small children. Call it helicopter parenting or whatever you want, but who's place is it to watch out for your children, if you don't?

always remember...if there's children around...watch out it doesn't take long for one get behind you...sad for all involved...i have heard of many children being backed over in my life...

I am so sad for the Mother of the toddler killed, my deepest sympathies to the family.

To the point...there are NO INHERENTLY UNSAFE VEHICLES made for sale in the US, PERIOD. Our auto makers do everything possible to make their vehicles as safe as possible and they comply with all US Transportation laws and codes. They are equipped with the latest "state of the art" safety devices which, WHEN USED, will greatly reduce the chance of injury to anyone! How many times have you seen a driver who turns suddenly in front of you without using their turn signal? I could site more but you get the picture - safety devices only work when you use them for what they are intended for.

As any auto manufacturer and law maker will tell you "you can manufacture the safest vehicle in the world, but, you will never manufacture a safe vehicle operator". So all you "inherently unsafe vehicle" thinkers best put the blame where it really belongs......ON HUMAN BEINGS, period. Humans are capable of far more stupidity then you are giving them credit for.

BACK.UP.CAMERAS.

prayers for everyone involved...at least 3 lives were ruined by that accident. No one is to blame, but all of them have suffered. Tragic, unnecessary accident.

JNEPA ... "BACK.UP.CAMERAS." Why? How about attentive parents..."The boy's mother was nearby, outside her vehicle when the incident happened."... In my opinion, THAT was the crime.

What a horrible tragedy for all involved. I know a lot of people are devastated this morning. I do know when you're in a parking lot, especially where there is a family event like this, you have a crawl your vehicle out of the parking lot. You can't be too careful. And if you're going to spend a ton of money on a big SUV then invest a few more dollars in a back up camera.

Back Up cameras are becoming much more available for use on all cars - the cost of them was initially expensive, but with the improving technology, are becoming far less costly and may well become standard equipment - thanks to many people inside and outside of the industry. I have one on my vehicle and I really depend on it, of course that's after I have actually looked both ways and behind me - safety first, at all times.

My wife gets angry at me sometimes when I get angry at the antics of some drivers - all I say in reply is I have to share the road with THEM and they make the roads unsafe for me to dive my family on. Always be alert and not distracted - no cell phone conversations, no txting or any other distractions. We have good laws and I don't believe we need more because no matter how many laws we make there are intelligent humans out there that will dumb up badly once behind the wheel of a vehicle.

this is way to sad me and my kids mom have 6 kids i would never let them walk in a parking lot with out me right next to them ever i always am right next to them because little ones are hard to see so if i'm right next to them they will see me my kids are my world would never let them go away from me in a parking lot i would let something happen to me before any could ever happen to my kids they are my life yes i am sorry for the kids mom and her loss but she should had her kid next to her at all times in a parking lot are close that she could of got her baby out of the way this is very sad so to me she way to far away from her kid sorry for your loss i'll pray for you may god be with you throw your hard times sorry we had to hear about this sad day

This really is some of the more tragic news of the day. This kind of accident could happen to anyone. And it's just that- an accident. No one would ever want to run over a sweet child like that. All cars have blind spots. Even with a rear end camera he was so small he still may not have been seen. And parents know, you do all you can to keep your child safe but all it takes is one unfortunate second. This accident didn't take an hour, it happened in a second or less. Have you ever taken your eyes off your child for less than a second? If so then you realize this mom wasn't to blame either.

I really feel bad for everyone in this. Just absolutely tragic.

I remember my boy at that age. I became the best one handed user around because the other was always gripping my toddlers hand when we were out.

I remember being in the ladies room of a library washing my hands and something under the sink caught my eye. It was a 6 year old boy crouched under there like he was hiding. There was no one in the rest room but us. I keep asking him where his parents was but he wouldn't answer me. He suddenly bolted into a stall and locked himself in while screaming that he wasn't allowed to talk to strangers. I went out into the library where I instantly spotted the mother. She was the lady freaking out. She took her eye off of him for a second he vanished. This child was fortunate but so many are not. You got to watch them. It only takes a second for tragedy to strike.

I REALLY don't mean to sound cold, but this one is the mother's fault. I had 3 small children at one time.. the oldest being autistic. We had a plan for parking lots so I knew each kid was where I had total control over them. If they broke the rule, they got swatted on the rear. It was NOT a negotiable area!! Today, I see kids running all over in parking lots, with parents on cell phones not paying attention. I've said something to a lot of these parents/children. I drive an old SUV without any back up camera. I look for adults, and figure a kid is somewhere nearby without them. It's not enough. Parents who act like this need to be charged with child endangerment. That's exactly what it is. If she has other children, they too are in danger from this thoughtless parent.

I agree, it's the mothers' fault that her child has passed. 22, 24, 12 months old doesn't matter. The mother was neglegent by not paying attention to where her child was. Should she have put the child in her vehicle "first" (if she was leaving) or did the child run away after leaving the vehicle to shop? Doesn't matter at this time that baby has passed. The mother is responsible. I may not have been the best mom but I had a pool while my kids were growing up. They were taught to swim "first" before they could use it. When I went shopping I made sure they were in a cart or ahead of me going into the store and holding their hands. I am empathetic towards the mom but the reality is if mom had prioritized her baby may be alive today.

So where was mom and/or dad around this moment?

I hate to have to say but holding your child's hand in a parking lot or walking down the street should be common sense. My kids are 6 and 7 and I still make them hold my hand. If I do have something in my hands they have to hold on to my pocket or a belt loop on my pants. I feel for the lady in the SUV she will have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life and the mother does not need to be jailed she has had the worst punishment a mother can have the death of her child, Jail is nothing compared to that pain and guilt. I swear people have lost common sense or they have the that will never happen to me mind set. This is a sad event that could have been prevented with just a little common sense. Accidents = could have been prevented but were not. I feel for the rest of the family of this poor baby they are in the worst pain right now.

It's sad, put parenting seems to have become more of a past-time than a responsibility for many people.

It's time to start holding negligent parents criminally responsible. It's truly sad that his come to this, but I don't see any other way.

Kiff, do you know that the child may well have had his hand held by his mom, and just jerked loose for a second or two. If you don't know that happens, then you must not have children. What purpose would be served prosecuting the parent, my lord, the parent has to live with that ACCIDENT the rest of their life. Maybe we should just hang that SUV on the nearest high limb which makes about as much sense as prosecuting her/him. Damn, there are a lot of perfect parents posting total bs on here today.

Yes, how heartbreaking! What an unfortunate combination of circumstances. It doesn't do anyone any good to assign blame. You can be holding your toddler's hand right up to the car, and the second you turn around to grab something they can be off 20 feet in another direction. No matter how hard you try to train your child to hold your hand in a parking lot or stay close to you and the car, sometimes a child will try to wander off. Really, really heartbreaking.

(I'm so lucky my kid is terrified of parking lots and cars and she *always* holds my hand and stays right next to me. Other kids, you have to grapple and drag to keep 'em from impulsively running in front of cars and killing themselves.)

Hotticket, I was stopped at a stop sign once and was letting a group of children cross when a douchebag on a motor cycle went around me, ON THE RIGHT, and knocked down two of the children. So let's not speak about which drivers of which vehicles are bigger @!$%#s, you'll lose.

All it takes is a second, just one moment for a toddler to dash away. This is an unfortunate accident and one that no one can put blame on the mother or driver of the SUV. How many times have you taken your child to a shopping center, or a picnic, or any number of things and witnessed your little one try to escape or run off? Even at home your little ones have the ability to do a Houdini and just disappear in the blink of an eye.

Too all you posters who think to pass judgement on these women, look in the mirror. You are not a superhuman with multiple sets of eyes and hands. Don't think if you had been there that you would have been or done any different because there is nothing that could have been. Sure you can say she should have held the tykes hand. Or the driver should have gotten out and looked up and down the parking lot. But how many of us actually do? This is one of those times that everyone wishes a different action was taken but unfortunately it was just an accident.

Condolences to the families.

If he is 22 months he was a one year old. You have to be 24 months old to become a 2 year old.

Seriously? THAT is what you're going to nit pick about?

A child who is 22 months old is 10 whole months away from their first birthday, and only 2 months away from their second birthday - and, with how quickly babies progress developementally, a 22 month old is far more like a 2 year old than they are a one year old.

This child was both 22 months old, and a '2 year old'. Thankfully, most people understand how this is possible.

I have to disagree with anyone who is bashing the mother. This was her baby - she made an error in judgement - she is going to have to live with this the rest of her life. The people who are judging and hanging her out to dry in a "Holier than Thou" attitude are the ones who will feel sad for a moment then move on to the next MSN story. And how pathetic is that. I have a toddler. I have an older child. I supervise them both closely in parking lots. My toddler knows she has to either hold my hand or be in my arms period. My 8.5 year old (that is grade three!) usually holds my hand as well. One day I had my hands full of my toddler and groceries, so my 8 year old was walking ahead of me - and some lady in a car started backing up and almost hit her! To be fair to my parenting - she then almost backed into me as well!! Sometimes it is NOT always the parents' fault. A different day I took my eye off my toddler for a second when I had placed her down to put my groceries in my trunk. Normally I get her into her seat first, for some reason that day I was doing the opposite. She started to dash off, I dropped what I was doing, grabbed her quickly and got her in her seat. Judge me for the thousands of times I put her in first or judge me for the one time I had a lapse in judgement? Give me a break. Parents aren't perfect. That one day that mom could have been me. Get off your high horses and empathize - or prove to me that you really are *that* perfect you can live in a glass house ...

Zathrose and 10tacle must be republicans because they have zero comprehension skills. Nowhere in the article did it blame or assess any kind of negativity to the SUV. It simply stated what kind of vehicle it was and what law enforcement plans to do. Most of the people responding to the article are simply making observations. SUV's are, for the most part,bigger and do present a problem for some smaller people, male or female, with regards to sight lines. Now it didn't say that there are any witnesses to show the driver was backing up fast or in a reckless manner so I'm not sure where the improper backing comes in. A 22 month old toddler isn't as high as most bumpers on any car or suv so seeing them isn't always easy especially if the child came from an angle and not straight on. Mom should have let whatever she was putting into or getting out of the back of her car go and deal with her child. I'm sorry, but everything else is/was replaceable except for the child.

I'm thinking that the negligent mother is going to sue the SUV driver and probably win. That is just plain wrong.

I have seen so many drivers, in most cases female, just drop the car in gear and just go and not bother to look. Why I can't stress enough always back into a spot that way you pull out when leaving. It may be just me but when I am at a playground with my children and get ready to leave even if I am facing out of the spot I always honk horn and look constantly. It is a very tragic accident I feel sorry for both people and families involved. I hope there were witnesses to the women driving to make sure she was not on cell phone at the time or texting. If so she should be charged.

Thank you Ks. I used to teach and run the smallest division of a little league program. The parents would bring the younger kids to the practices and games, whoever thinks that the toddler set is not very fast has NEVER been around toddlers. They are quick and slippery. Should the mother have had the child's hand, yes she probably should have. Do we know what was going on that she did not, no we don't. Take a minute and put your "I am so much better than you" comments on hold. One woman is torn up about running over a child, the other woman is DEVASTATED over the DEATH of their baby.

I had a harness (yes a leash) for my youngest child and the two older ones knew the drill several years apart in age). But there were times when my youngest got away from me and I had to literally sprint after her. I can't judge any either of these women, because there is a whole lot of heartbreak going on. Rest in peace little one, and prayers for everyone else involved.

Fact. The majority of parking lot accidents involve SUVs. Drive whatever you want i dont care, but dont stick your heads in the ground and act like SUVs arent more dangerous in parking lots. You sound like the morons who said earth was flat after magellan. just so sad for all involved

Drewbuddee, I think the true fact here is you just want to own an SUV, can't afford it, and are just plain jealous of those who do. That's been my experience with SUV bashers, who usually come up with ridiculous, completely wrong excuses of why they're bad. Your excuse, for example...actually SUVs are big, therefore much more easily seen in parking lots even before they start to move. A moron should be able to realize that. The worst are little, low, sporty types that you can't see coming from behind the cars on either side of you. If you're talking about having one parked beside you when you want to back out, my SUV has glass all around. What I find dangerous are windowless vans...you can't see past them. But as long as you know HOW to drive, vans are no problem either.

The most stupid SUV comments are gas mileage. If you own an 8 cyl. dinosaur, yes, and that would apply to any vehicle. I own a 2006 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition. It has the Eddie Bauer 6 cyl, engine in it. I get four times the mileage from it than I did with my previous vehicle, a 95 Mercury Cougar. Of course it won't beat a Prius, but neither will the car you drive. I get so sick of Wish-I-Owned-An-SUV drivers who bash things they know nothing about other than what they see other bashers saying.

To the real problem here, and many, many knowledgeable commenters already said it, you wouldn't see a 22 month old directly behind you in ANY vehicle without a back up cam. Back up cams are nearly as important an invention as the seat belt or the air bag was. But, as they did with both of those life saving devices, the car companies are resisting having to make them standard equipment to save a few dollars on price. Like side airbags...see any of those on anything but imports? They talk safety, but they really only care about their bottom line. The government will need to step in once again and make them mandatory. Or the insurance companies, cause they're more powerful than the government and car companies together. A back up cam would have saved this child's life. Such a shame all around.

Parking lots scare the bejeezus out of me. It doesn't matter who is driving what... a speeder or someone who never looks around or is distracted somehow are equally dangerous. I try to assume that the pedestrian always has the right of way, and try to check around my car before starting it up and moving it. Very, very slowly, with the window rolled down.

The reason for my extreme care is I have three small grandchildren. I love those little guys like crazy, and I can in some way imagine the grief and anguish of both mothers. A 22-month-old child gets around quickly, and they are so curious. It breaks my heart to read of this child's death. My deepest sympathies to the families and friends.

If I ever have a child, I'll make sure to live a in SUV-free city

Hey, "thinker" and the rest of you idiots: The child was NOT killed by the SUV, or the parent; THE CHILD WAS KILLED BY THE DRIVER OF THE SUV!!!!!!

Get it right and get it legal! The irresponsible, neglegent driving, and impropper backing by the DRIVER of the SUV!!!!!!

Responsibility and accountabllity is the issue here....WITH THE DRIVER WHO KILLED A CHILD....and no one is more responsible than the DRIVER BEHIND THE WHEEL OF A CAR!!!!

You are all idiots! It is not okay to run over a child because the parent has not been able to keep the child at her side......but the DRIVER WHO KILLED THE CHILD!!!!! It is NOT okay, and it is inexcusible to run over a child because you are too lazy to get out and make sure no one is in the BLIND SPOT.

I have gotten out of many vehicles to look and even got a bysgtander to make sure it was clear when there were many people in a parking lot. AND I DID IT TO INSURE THE SAFETY OF THOSE IN MY BLIND SPOT!

I am a certified flagger, and know the laws....THIS IN INEXCUSIBLE!!!!!!

All of you seem to know about the "BLIND SPOT", and the wife of a chief of police needs to be as aware of this as ANYONE ELSE. Safety FIRST AND FOREMOST is the best motto to live by, or you will kill other children.......safety first! The UNION WAY!!!!!!

steel toed boot. i must have hit a raw nerve. I am not bashing any car. you are right those tiny cars, you cant see them. That statement is just as valid as the one saying that kids are seen less behind trucks and SUVs. I have an SUV, and are you really saying that you can see things behind you in an SUV as good as you can in a car.

Here's how you keep control of your children in parking lots. You have them hold onto you!! If a child lets go, they get spanked. The ones too little to follow this direction you carry. Is that too hard? I had 3 that all knew the rules. When I had a cart, all hands were on the cart at ALL times! When I didn't, I held two with hands, and the oldest held onto my shirt or jacket. I never had a 'near miss' because I knew where my kids were. All it takes is some THINKING! If a driver of any vehicle waited until they knew 100% that a stray child wasn't behind them, they'd never back up! The driver wasn't at fault. The mom should've had hold of that child. A kid that age will NOT stay put. Everyone has said this, so it's common sense. Sad for the mom, but she wasn't paying attention to her kid. You have to pay attention all the time when you have a toddler. There are dangers everywhere, and it's your job to keep them safe all the time. A parking lot is kind of a no brainer.

Pamela- Noone is cheering this. Noone said they deserved it. You being a "certified flagger" Does not make you an expert. You know very little about this case and to be judge and jury. No 22months this child should not have been running around 3 ton machines. This was a tragic accident. It will haunt the lives of two women for the rest of their lives. This was an accident

Ok, Pamela, say the driver got out to check her blind spot, then got back in her SUV and started backing out. Everyone knows toddlers can't move and are completely incapable of running behind the vehicle while the driver is returning to the car, right? And you call everyone else idiots.

And whether the vehicle was an SUV is irrelevent. Name a car that allows a toddler to be seen while in the blind spot. Unless you're talking about an extraordinarily tall toddler, that's NONE.

Steel Toed Boot- Excellent vehicle! I have a 2009 Eddie Bower Ford Taurus X.

It is a Crossover, and Im wondering- Does that make me a bad driver? Its not really taller than anything, Including a van. I can see pretty well everywhere due to the fact that it is so small, and low to the ground (maybe 8 inches, though I am sure that is possibly giving it more than it is), has back up sensor (though, a video camera would allow me to see any little ones that run behind me, as it would with ANY CAR), and it has seats that go all the way back, so feasably I could ask a kid "HEY! Are there any little kids back there standing where I could hit them?". I am just wondering, since I am very good at watching where I am going, but I did almost hit an old lady that was hiding by a mini van. She was sitting there, off to the side, and then "OOPS". Halfway through my backup, she decided that she needed to go RIGHT NOW, instead of waiting. Due to the sheer size of the mini van (WAY taller than my car), I never even saw her until she was right by my bumper. So- Here is what I think- ALL minivans are dangerous because they have dark tinted windows that make it impossible to see around them. They are so tall, dark, and big that there is no possible way they could EVER be safe in a parking lot. For ANYONE, especially all those kids that are sitting in there screaming at their mother. OH- Gas prices= 15 MPG in town, 21 on the highway. WOW. Thats like, 2 whole gallons less than my car would have gotten (2004 ford taurus ES with a 6 cylander, like my new Taurus X.)

Then we move on to trucks. I live in Wyoming, so, naturally, there are more of these than anything, especially minivans and cars. They are bigger, higher, harder to see around. Even without a shell. No kid can see over the tailgate, no adult can see over the tailgate to ensure there isnt a child running IN A PARKING LOT. With or without a shell, the sheer size makes that impossible. Maybe SUVs are more involved in parking lot accidents where you are from, but here, I sincerely doubt that. FACT- More people here drive trucks than anything, with an SUV second, minivans and cars bringing up the rear.

Point is- You are making it a fact that SUVs cause more parking lot accidents. Where is your link? What site says this?

This is ridiculous, the mother of that baby should have been holding her hand. Sad, but true. Im sorry she has to spend everyday of her life knowing that could have easily saved the life of her child by being a parent. That sucks, and is a crappy lesson. Doesnt mean I think she needs to fry, or the fact that an SUV is big makes it the vehicles fault. It means exactly what it means- she failed her child. The lady in the SUV wouldnt have seen her in a car, truck, van ANY better. How can someone blame a stranger that had no clue that child could have been there? In any vehicle?

AGAIN- Mom- Sorry. I sincerely offer you my condolences. Please learn from this.

AGAIN- RIP little girl.

AGAIN- Lady in the SUV- Dont let this wear on you any more than it already does. Not your fault. Bad parenting, lack of attention did this.

I am finding it pretty hard to believe that so many people are blaming the driver or her type of vehicle for this tragedy. This was an accident, and honestly without a rear camera no amount of looking around before backing out would've enabled the driver to see this child. Even in my compact car I probably wouldn't have seen a small child behind me.

A woman in an SUV is always going to be dangerous.
The mom was at fault mainly.
Put em both in the slammer.

This freak me out all the time around kids. I see it so often in the mall parking lot at the beach, kids are fast and unaware. You may have to go look behind your car in a crowded enviroment before you move. I used to do this when my granddaughter was over even though I know she was in the house. So sad and so fast for this to happen..innocent laps in judgement. Sad, Sad. Prayers..

I'm so very sorry for the child, God Bless him and keep him, and the mother and the other mother involved, so sad, a moment in time can change so much. I am such a worrier and always foresee lots of weird stuff that could happen in my mind and imagine the worst all the time and that's how kids should be raised, things still happen! I feel I brought my child into the world I must keep him or her safe. The parent is the one who is the one to be the most responsible. Whether society forgives her and weighs her pain and has empathy is the goal we want to teach our children. But they must feel safe and protected first. Regardless, when SUVs first came out there was a lot of controversy about do we really need these over sized gas guzzling station wagons in times of extreme. These are 3 tons of power. There was much talk and discussion of how much harder it is to see from them front and back, the rear view camera was needed, like in the motor homes but was too expensive and all was forgotten, till now many improvements have been made. It is hard to blame the SUV makers for wanting to sell such a popular vehicle, but cameras should have been installed no matter the cost to be added to the truck. Cost vs Lives. Unskilled drivers of such a large vehicle, I see these drivers struggling with seeing the blind spots all the time, especially backing up in tight parking. Toddlers are very hard to control at a time when the striving for their autonomy just like in teenagers. One Second and he is out of sight! But we must protect these children with their whole lives ahead of them. So sad. So sorry for the baby boy mostly and the mom. My Condolences.

As a Postal driver I drive an LLV which has no windows and many mirrows. These are bigger than SUVs and we do NOT back unless we get out first and look behind the vehicle. We still have mirrows to look but U never know when a child will be behind you. It is the responsibility of the driver and the parent to keep these kids safe.

COmommy

Stull (#1.9): You must not have any children.

WRONG!

This story is so sad, I feel horrible for both families. I happen to have a truck with a backup camera, it doesn't always show all angles. A child that small would be almost impossible to see, no matter what you are driving. I always drive really slow in parking lots or anywhere else. I do have to say I've never seen more parents that are oblivious to their kids these days. Even when I'm in the grocery store, I see kids running up and down the aisles with no parents to be seen. In this day and age a vechicle isn't the only danger to young kids.

I have two little nephews 5 & 6, and I always make sure they both look both ways when crossing the street and hold on to my hands. If I can't hold both their hands because my hands are full, one of them ends up riding in the basket. If I don't have access to a basket I put them in the vehicle and lock the doors and go back and get my stuff. Kids are so undependable, you have to keep them in sight at all times.

I hope these family both find peace somehow. Oh and for people that are bed mouthing, people driving SUV's or truck's, some people have big families and don't have much of a choice. We live in the country and driving a truck is a necessity where we live.

SUV's are higher (most new models have tinted rear windows and more relaxed laws on rear tinted windows than do passenger cars, not sure why ? station wagons also fall into this area and can have rear window tinted/laws vary state to state) and higher/larger vehicle with tinted windows is more dangerous backing up in a crowded parking lot, period.

I don't drive an SUV, and don't feel the need to be higher and peer down at people. Also SUV's were promoted by the auto industry before gas prices began souring. The auto industry in many cases is directly connected to the oil industry, see the connection ? Big SUV's are better for going over rough potholes, but you pay for the nice ride by having more expensive tires/wheels and using more fuel.

Another annoying thing about big SUV's are the high intensity head lights. On a high vehicle they create dangerous light flare to oncoming traffic, and to make matters worse, most SUV's after a year or two on the road don't ride level and droop in the rear end magnifying the situation.

These types of headlights warrant an equipment violation but our society has come to accept these dangerous headlights as the norm. Someone said it helps them see at night, that's funny I never had a problem driving at night before with tungsten headlights.

I figure if you have a problem driving at night, then you shouldn't be driving at night. But I guess if you're a selfish a**hole then you could care less about what the person in the other car can see or if you are damaging their eyes.

Unfortunately, anyone can make a mistake in the blink of an eye; and some mistakes have horrible consequences. Once I accidently locked my daughter in the car with the keys inside. If it had been the middle of the day on a hot day and if I had not been aware of my mistake immediately, the consequences could have been disastrous. Thankfully, I realized my mistake immediately, it was the end of the day, and I had parked in the shade. I instantly ran into my daughter's daycare (this was before I had a cell phone-yes, it was that long ago), and they called 911. It took only a few minutes for fire rescue to arrive with a fire truck and paramedics; and a firefighter opened his huge rig to pull out a slim jim which he used to pop open the lock. The paramedics quickly examinined my daughter, but she not in any distress at all-she was barely even sweating. I was so thankful!

My point is that things like this can happen very quickly in just a second of inattention. It may be easy to judge this mother, but I feel certain that every single one of us has had at least one second of inattention while our children were in our care. What happened to this mother is an accident that probably could have happened to many of us. I was very careful in parking lots, but I'm sure there were times when my daughter got away from me and ran ahead. The woman driving the SUV could not possibly have seen the child if he darted out behind her vehicle-no one can see a child who does that even if one looks carefully before backing. A child that small can't be seen no matter what kind of car one is driving. Also, a pedestrian can't count on the driver of a car hearing him or her scream for them to stop because they might have the radio on or be distracted-plus a lot of screaming and yelling goes on at a ballgame with a bunch of kids around. My deepest sympathies to all concerned in this terrible tragedy.

@Fwalsh, can't say I ever had my ambulance cut off while running hot by a motorcycle. On the other hand it has been done multiple times by morons on the cell phone driving SUV's. SUV's are the biggest idiots that do that. How in the heck do you miss a big box with flashing lights and screaming sirens? Yet it's almost routine by SUV drivers. The next biggest offenders are Lexus and Toyota Camry drivers.

The largest offender for front end auto pedestrian incidents are SUV drivers. It's as if cross walks and urban speed limits don't apply to them. I'm only surprised the death toll isn't higher. I guess those of us in EMS and ER nursing are getting better by experience.

When my children were little, I never let go of their hands until we were away from the parking lot. They hated it and squermed and whined. Now they are well into their teens. I can't say I was able to keep hold of them every time, I just got lucky that they never were injured.

Not bashing either parent on this one. I'm sure the little boy just went running off. At that age, they absolutely just take off and keep going. Walls, stairs, cars, fences, boulders, dogs, cats, trees and any other obtacles are just temporary inconveniences which slow them down for a few seconds until they figure out how to go around/over/through them. The driver may very well have looked and did not see him. The mother undoubtedly lost control for just a moment and he was gone.

Here is a link to an updated version of the story showing that the mother was not being negligent. Please read it before you continue to bash her or the driver of the car. This was an accident and a horrible tragedy.

"The boy's mother was getting something out of her car, and a friend offered to take Brady to the field while she retrieved it," Titusville police Maj. Todd Hutchinson said. "The boy changed his mind and bolted back toward his mother, running in back of Pamela Bodenheimer's SUV," police said.

"The mom was only two parked cars away."

It didn't post my link, but the story is in the Orlando Sentinal. You can google it.

ok i read alot of posts and 90% of you people are morons.
iam a father of 5 my oldest is 16 and my youngest is 10. If the driver of the suv did not break any laws its not her fault the child was run over. The mother of the child is not at fault eather. 22 month old do get away even from the best mother or father. A line tide to your child is a choise but not really needed. like i said i have 5 kids and yes in a blink of a eye they can get away from you. to this day i do yell at them for running around in parking lots and ther 16 15 14 12 and 10. Things happen in a blink of a eye.

A video backup cam great if the suv had one but there mostly newer cars/trucks/suv have them so stop yelling like thats a fix for what happen. even with a cam your backing up and a child runs behide you you might still hit them.

As for people pointing out the bad side of suv's any car has a bad side dont care what it is they all have blind spots and and weight the tires of a subcompac runs over a 22 month old it will kill them just as suv would.

Now grow up My thoughts are with both the driver and the mother of the child. iam sure he will be deeply missed. Now get of you high horses people some of you really make me sick of people sometimes.

Totally agree. Why in the world did she not have him at her side holding on to him? At one year old, they are even barely able to walk. Don't blame the driver in this case. When you are in an SUV, it is impossible to see someone that small if they get behind you. Parents should always hold on to their kids hands until they reach a certain age to know the danger. I see this all the time where little ones are left to run on their own . They have no concept of the danger. My grandson was one of those stubborn kids who refused to hold on to my hand when we went shopping. As much as he resisted, I would hang on to him until we got to the car.

The driver is going to have to live with this the rest of their life and they did nothing wrong.

This child was 22 months, quite a bit older than one year old. There are a hundred scenario's that can be cooked up on how this happened, but I did not get enough information from this to know what caused the tragedy. All I can get from this for certain, is that one life was lost and several have been altered for life. Driver, nor mother will ever completly heal from this. There may never be a clear answer as to why this happened. I feel bad for both, the mother and the driver, and also for the families of both, because it is going to take a lot for both sides to get through a tragedy like this.

Oh but it does tell a major portion of the story. Who in their right mind even lets go of a 22 month old childs hand anywhere near a parking lot? You cannot expect a toddler to be seen by a driver of any car much less an SUV. This poor child could have been run over by a VW Beetle, he/she is just as dead. My sympathies to the families of the driver and the child. But the major theme here is: if you were to play out this situation over again........What would you change? That determines where the major portion of the responsibility remains. The only thing you could change is.....not losing physical control of the child in an always known to be dangerous area. No one is saying the parent did anything criminal here but they were not truly 100% victimized either.

Say what you may. Maybe the mother was busy texting or doing something else. Maybe she wasn't. We certainly don't know what really happened. So lease let's not all go "postal" on the mother, but every parent needs to remember that "Superman is faster than a speeding bullet," AND toddlers are even faster!

My condolences to the family of the child...and the driver

No matter who was at fault, both women will pay the ultimate price...the mother for losing her child, and the driver who will have to live her life knowing she killed a child.

For all you people that are defending the mother consider one thing. It's a parking lot with people in a hurry, getting in their vehicles to beat the mad exit, and this mother does not have control of her child. There was nothing that scared me more than leaving a gathering whether it be a ball game, a concert, a fair, or any other number of events than trying to go through a parking lot with people in a hurry to "beat the crowd". A young 22 month old child should be watched at all times under those circumstances and never left free to roam.

Now don't get me wrong because I know she will have a heavy burden to carry as will the person driving the SUV. It could be that the driver backed up too fast and the child had no chance to get out of the way. We don't know. Only they know whether they could have avoided the tragedy.

It was an accident. The SUV didn't do it, the driver did it,and the mother of the child did not maintain control of the toddler. Neither of them did it on purpose, so I am sure neither of them will get over this very well, and will have lots of regret. Why does this rate all the back and forth comments? MSNBC must be getting short on news today.

Mr.Tamborineman

This child was 22 months, quite a bit older than one year old. There are a hundred scenario's that can be cooked up on how this happened, but I did not get enough information from this to know what caused the tragedy. All I can get from this for certain, is that one life was lost and several have been altered for life. Driver, nor mother will ever completly heal from this. There may never be a clear answer as to why this happened. I feel bad for both, the mother and the driver, and also for the families of both, because it is going to take a lot for both sides to get through a tragedy like this.

Not too often are there rational postings on this site. This is one of them.

This almost happened to me yesterday. I was about to back my car our of the parking lot and the idiot mother let her 3 young child wondering about behind my car. Sorry to say but there are so many idiots in this world that shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family. I can not imagine how devastated or guilty this mom must feel. I have had toddlers, I know how quickly they can get away from you if you don't have your eye on them every second. The story doesn't give details of how it happened, but really that doesn't matter. What matters is there is a family missing a precious almost 2 year old boy and the driver of that SUV feeling totally devastated that they caused this childs death. May God bless this family and the driver of the SUV and help them find comfort in this very sad time.

Until mothers can strap their children onto their breasts, there will be accidents. My child was nearly run down in a parking lot. And yes, I was holding onto her hand. The toddler's family and the driver will have to deal with this tragedy for the rest of their lives. Some of the comments are at best, inappropriate. Calling the mother names doesn't bring the child back.

JCA:

When in any parking lot with a 22 month old baby, it is the parents responsibility to make sure that this child is not hit by a car! With a child that age in a parking lot, as a parent, you MUST make sure that child is holding your hand or you are holding them!!! A 22 month old does not know to look out for vehicles that might be backing out, but any parent sure does. For you to say, "To assume the mother was somehow at fault because the child wasn't tied to her body in some way is ignorant.", shows me just how ignorant you are. I hope you don't have children because with thoughts about parent responsibility like yours, the same could happen to you. Bottom line is this is a very tragic incident, but the responsibility lies squarely on the parent. A 22 month old is not even close to being old enough to walk by themselves in a parking lot.

WHERE WAS THE MOTHER

THEY ARE OUR RESPONSICIBILY AS PARENTS ESPECIALLY AT A SPORTING EVENT

THATS TERRIBLE

If the mother of the child isn't supposed to be responsible for her kid in a busy, crowded parking lot at a high school sporting event then who is?

This is the mother's fault...period. As a parent, the buck stops with you here.

Assigning fault seems to be an American pass time, though perhaps this habit is world wide. So who to blame? The mother? The driver? The SUV manufacturer? The parking lot design? Several things have to happen at once for such an accident to happen... The child breaks free... The driver is distracted, vision impaired... While married it was my wife's habit to try an park as close as possible to the store rather than seek a less crowded corner of the parking lot, just to save a few steps.. drove me crazy. This type of accident is just common enough that high end autos are being equipped with collision avoidance technology. Not soon enough to have prevented this tragedy.

The mother may have been two feet away

If that was the case wouldn't the article have tried to minimize the negligent mother's responsibility even more by stating "the child was within arm's reach"?

"Nearby" could just as reasonably been within shouting distance - the other end of the parking lot.

Wouldn't be one bit surprised to find out the mother was distracted because she was texting or checking facebook on her iphone.

It's a horrible accident, the mom of the boy & the mom who hit him both have older daughters who are on the same high school softball team. My prayers go out to all involved, including the whole softball team. It got to be hard to know one of your teammates mom accidently ended your little brothers life & vise-versa.

lbs5o1, talk about ignorant. You read one article about this and think you know everything. Many times the lines of communication are mixed up and parents think the child is with another friend or family member. This article didn't state this but this article really didn't state much and to make a judgement based on this one article is beyond ignorant. Most people who make snap judgements have an awful lot to hide in their own lives and incredibly low IQ's. It makes them feel better about themselves to talk bad about strangers.

I don't see why her running over this child and it being an accident is any reason to decide to not charge her with at least 50 different felonies and put her in prison for the next 30 years, after all this is the United States and we have one important message to send to everyone here and that is that justice is blind and everyone SHALL have their day in court and a heavy sentence given at every chance!!! Well at least to the regular folks it goes that way, but given the fact that her hubby is the police CHIEF she will be given preferential treatment and the child's mother will wind up rotting in prison so I guess that the system still works as long as SOMEONE's ass goes to prison, right?

That is what sets us apart from the rest of the world, we use emotion and revenge as a means to something we like to hide behind called justice! Even though we are laughed at by the rest of the world at the numbers of people we have locked up and locked up for victimless crimes for outrageously long sentences for basically nothing (even though every study ever done shows that this is contrary to what should happen with a criminal justice system) yet the people who bankrupted this nation and cripples the world economy were actually given MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR DOING WHAT THEY DID instead of going to prison!!!

This story must have been updated or something before I read it. So many comments on here saying that they don't know what the child's mother was doing. When I read it,it said she was at her car getting something out of it, and wasn't in control of the child at that time. It didn't say how far her car was from where the SUV was, but it did say she turned around soon enough to see it about to happen, and that she yelled for the driver to stop, but it was too late. The child's mother was definitely at fault, but no one should be charged for this, despite the rant above by sumatymrolls. It was a horrible accident, and everybody has already paid a horrible price.

@sumatymrolls: Doe not matter if she is the CHIEF's wife or not, it was not her fault. I am a parent of 3 year old and 8 year old, and make it a point everytime we go to a sporting event to WATCH them. The mother did not do her job as a parent so in this case LET HER ROT IN PRISON!

The mother did not do her job as a parent so in this case LET HER ROT IN PRISON!

Oh, @!$%# off, Terri N Adam Lawton. You are so over the top, you can't be taken seriously. Rot in prison, seriously? Please.

Not rot in prison. She will be her own prison for life.

"The boy's mother was getting something out of her car, and a friend offered to take Brady to the field while she retrieved it, Titusville police Maj. Todd Hutchinson said. The boy changed his mind and bolted back toward his mother, running in back of Pamela Bodenheimer's SUV, police said.

The mom was only two parked cars away."

This from the Orlando Sentinel, the areas newspaper. How many of you have left you child in the care of someone else for 2 minutes?? I bet all of you. It was a tragic accident. So all you people quick to judge, you obviously didn't search for all the facts. A mother lost her son, try to show a little compassion??? Sheesh.

F Walsh:

Snap judgement? LOL! It's called an opinion! Maybe, if you didn't have such a low IQ, you would understand that. LOSER!

quicktojudge? Thank you for posting that additional information. That sounds exactly like something my 3 year old has done before. I watch her like a hawk, especially when we are in parking lots where I make her hold my hand or stand immediately next to me if we are not walking. Actually, she has gotten so used to it that if I don't start holding her hand within seconds of getting her out of the car, she usually starts to freak out and yell at me to hold her hand. But I can certainly think of situations, like leaving church or a restaurant for instance, where she will be with me and then decide she wants to ride with Nana and Papaw, who may be parked a few cars down, so she jerks her hand away and bolts for Nana's arms. I could see that happening where a car between us decides to back out at just the wrong moment. I wish all these people would quit judging when they apparently don't know all the facts. To me, it just sounds like a heartbreaking accident and I feel very sorry for everyone involved. Not one person involved in this intended for that little boy to die. Let's remember that.

A child that age should have still been in a stroller, ready to be strapped into his/her car seat (the law), especially out in a parking lot, on a sidewalk, or in a street. I see the same thing all of the time sitting out in front of my store greeting visitors to our island. I want to ask the parents why that child is running free, but I don't. Maybe I should.

Far too many parents think that everyone else should look out for their children. You're right the baby should have been in a stroller or in her arms

Mom was probably too busy texting or trying to deal with another child. Unfortunately I find this to be more the norm nowadays. While there are still a majority of parents that are wonderful, it seems that I can't go into a store anymore without someone's kids running free trashing the place while the parent is preoccupied or just plain ignoring them. If you make the investment in having a child, for God sakes PLEASE take care of them!

Wow. All of you are so brilliant that you know what happened and you can judge this woman. Amazing. So what if he dragged his hand out of hers for a second and started to run off and she went after him but couldn't catch him? I mean you have no idea what happened and once again people judge everyone concerned. Texting???? Where in the article does anyone mention texting? Where does it say she just let him run off? Kids that age are wonderful at trying to make escapes.

Wow. Nice you are all perfect, too. None of your kids EVER had one second where you reached to get something out of your car and your child tried to make a run for it? You are all perfect? She is human as are we all, and she has lost her child. Another woman has to live with running over him. Is that enough pain for you? No, you feel the mother needs more?

Is it possible to let the police deal with this and if they find she wasn't negligent to let her heal and mourn without being judged and convicted?

Not that this will change things, but my youngest is four and she still holds my hand in a parking lot. People can't either see or aren't paying attention because they need to get somewhere and then something like this happens. People driving older cars, SUV's and vans that don't have the backing sensors or cameras so you have to assume that every car is older and be very diligent. I constantly warn my kids about the dangers of a parking lot, and sheesh, you cannot expect a 22 month old to understand. This could have been prevented. How awful for everyone involved.

Amen Ram, amen.

ram - That's the ticket. Give everybody else crap for hypothesizing while ignoring your own possibilities -

what if he dragged his hand out of hers for a second and started to run off and she went after him but couldn't catch him?

Kids that age are wonderful at trying to make escapes.

kids EVER had one second where you reached to get something out of your car and your child tried to make a run for it

The only difference between your possibilities and others' is that yours rationalize for the neglectful mother.

Ram... are you a parent? Doesn't sound like it. My children NEVER walked, ran, or toddled around a parking lot unattended. NEVER. They were in my arms or strapped into their stroller in a parking lot. Parking lots are dangerous places. You do not drop your guard for even a moment. I don't give a rat's a$$ what the mom was doing, YOU DO NOT DROP YOUR GUARD FOR ONE SPLIT SECOND IN A PARKING LOT. That goes for swimming pools, streets, driveways, bathtubs or anywhere else where a child can be injured.

The tots mom should feel pain. She royally screwed up. Am I perfect, no. But when it comes to your child's safety, you do not look away, drop your guard or anything else where the tot a second to escape or run. You just don't. I raised 7 boys, and none of them were ever unattended in a parking lot.

artsy, same here... I always had my child by the hand. I mean realistically, how can you see a child that is lower than that trunk of a compact car. It's really common sense.

Actually, yes, I am a parent. I watch my children closely, and if you read another post I made I had my son (now grown) firmly holding my hand and right with me once and he yanked his hand out of mine and headed into a busy street. I was lucky enough to be able to catch him before the cars hit him, but I was standing right next to him and holding his hand snugly with no phone, no texting, no laziness, and no anything else, and I still saw him almost get hit. If my reflexes hadn't been really good and I hadn't been in great health my child would have been killed.

My point is that sometimes kids DO suddenly see something or get tired of being held, and I am NOT rationalizing for anyone. I am saying that unless you know this mother, were with her that day in that parking lot, and saw her chatting on a phone, texting, or ignoring her child YOU have no clue what she was doing and what kind of a mother she is. I am seriously conscious of my kids at all times, but my point was simply that all your condemnation of this woman is based on no evidence and I was simply trying to say there are other possibilities. I didn't need to say the ways she might have been negligent since so many already said them. I am just saying that despite what some of you think, YOU are also lucky your kids didn't get a wild hair and run off at the wrong moment or fall and get hurt.

I have no idea if the mother is a lazy, mean witch or if she is a wonderful, loving, attentive mother. The point is YOU don't either, and I don't see many saying the truth here. We DON'T have all the facts and therefore we just don't know. All the crap about cell phones, single mothers, negligence, talking on the phone, wanting her child to die as some have said on here comes out of your imaginations. You know a girl who is a crappy mother? Guess all moms must be. Guess since I have almost been hit by moms on cell phones in SUVs this driver must be at fault too since that means she must have been on her cell. Wrong! I don't know and you don't either.

All you responsible people who just know what happened and know it was all her fault? In your perfect world where nothing bad ever happens to great moms do you realize blaming people when you have no clue what happened is pretty irresponsible too? How about we let the police sort it out and think of the poor child who got killed instead of crucifying people when we have no info? We can be more careful and learn something from this or waste our energy condemning people based on the choice of words of a news article.

What does, "Outside her car" even mean here? She was holding his hand and he got away? She was ignoring him 20 feet away? I don't know and I bet you don't either.

AMEN!!! Kids can get away from you in a split second, no one can pass judgement, only the good Lord above.

I agree with Ram. I can see other possibilities. Did the mother let go of the child's hand right by the car to get her car keys out, and the child ran away? It doesn't state how far away the child was from his mother-it may have been 2 feet for all you know! It doesn't say if the mother was grabbing for the child or running for the child or anything. The story leaves out a great deal.

You're right Lou, nobody knows the circumstances, all of them. Like, did the kid jerk loose? Was the mother releasing her hold on him to get car keys? We don't know but folks will go on and on about how negligent the mother was. Bottom line to that is; It's none of their business anyway and if it had not happened they wouldn't be here posting this and that. I suspect that for some it's just something to do, to kill time. Lol, the folks most vehement in their condemnation seem to be most insensitive to the mothsr's grief. "Well, she should be grieving or in jail, it's all her fault." Lovely.

What if she was unloading the stroller to place the child in it at the time? What if the child was in the stroller when it was crushed? We know too little about this accident to draw conclusions about it, but that isn't stopping anyone from leaping ahead.

A refresher on the meaning of the word accident from dictionary.com

accident [ak-si-duhnt]

Part of Speech:
noun

Definition

unexpected, undesirable event; often physically injurious

Yeah, kids can get away, but for me I was so anal about it, it maybe happened once. I would think that the mom would emphasize this exception and the news would mention it???

ram, the same thing happened to me when my son was two.
I was hysterical for a while, imagining what the outcome could have been.

I am guessing they must have updated the story with more information, because this line sheds light for me somewhat on what happened.

"Most of the crowd had gathered for the softball game when Brady's mother went to get something out of her car in the parking lot. The boy wandered away, and Brady's mother noticed the SUV backing up."

We don't know what she was getting from the car. There may have been no way for her to hold onto him with both hands. She probably said, stay put, reached in her car and he wandered away. I'm sick of reading people talking about how neglegent a mother this woman is. I don't know her, you don't know her, I wasn't there, and you weren't there. I remember babysitting my sisters 3 children at a pool and one of them came over to have me fix his swim trunks. It took me about 15 seconds and when I was finished, the youngest one had managed to wander out of my sight. We found him quickly, he had run behind some bushes surrounding the pool, but I still freaked out. Was I being neglegent because I didn't have him on my lap the whole time or holding his hand? I fail to believe that this is how all parents function. When I told my sister about it later she said, yep, that's him. He's so curious.

I feel so sad for the mother and I wish that instead of placing blame that I'm sure the mother has already placed on herself, we could open our hearts and feel sad for her too, instead of being the jury and the judge on what is a tragic situation.

Here is a link to a further updated story that shows the mother was not at fault. Please read it before you continue to criticize either the mother or the driver. This was a terrible accident.

"The boy's mother was getting something out of her car, and a friend offered to take Brady to the field while she retrieved it," Titusville police Maj. Todd Hutchinson said. "The boy changed his mind and bolted back toward his mother, running in back of Pamela Bodenheimer's SUV," police said.

"The mom was only two parked cars away."

It didn't post my link >.< The quote is from the story as told by the Orlando Sentinal. You can google it. Easy to find.

Ever consider waiting for the full facts to come out? Or why don't we just charge everyone in the vicinity? This may have been a terrible tragedy that could not have been prevented. The point is that we just don't know...especially on the basis of this lone article. Anyway, take care.

At least investigated for a pattern of "neglect."

Always sooooo quick to asume the mother did wrong without having details.

klm: That's why there needs to be an investigation. A child is dead. Close attention should be paid to the mother's demeanor at the time of the accident.

I assure you the police would be investigating. How about we let them do that before the mother is convicted of something she most likely didn't do?

ram: FYI Yahoo! News reports the woman was in her car looking for something and the boy "wandered" into the parking lot. No split second darting into harms way. Might not be a bad idea to see if there were other incidents of "wandering."

"The boy's mother was getting something out of her car, and a friend offered to take Brady to the field while she retrieved it, Titusville police Maj. Todd Hutchinson said. The boy changed his mind and bolted back toward his mother, running in back of Pamela Bodenheimer's SUV, police said.

The mom was only two parked cars away."

This according to the Orlando Sentinel. So, no, she didn't just ignore her child for a text and let him wander into a parking lot. She left him in the care of someone else. You judgmental people really need to get some compassion.

Thanks for the update judge. The third person wasn't mentioned until today. Makes a good case for child tethers and motion detectors on all cars

Thank you so much for the extra information! I hope this shuts some people up about "charging the mother" and putting her under extra investigation. We are lucky they didn't say if she had extra kids or they would be screaming for them to be taken away from their mother. I don't remember much about when I was growing up, but I do know that when there was an accident in our community, we banded together in grief for the parents. I remember my parents taking meals to people who lost their child in a car accident because the mother backed out of her driveway and hadn't seen a car coming. It was tragic and the parents still mourn her loss to this day. I don't remember people screaming for their blood or for charges to be dropped. Maybe that's what happens when you come from a small town.

Forget the mother, whe should have been watching the child, i feel more so bad just for the driver, she had no control what so ever for this poor child.

First vehicles or such in school parking lots should be made to park face forward for starters. In a school parking lots, the children rule, so expect the unexpectedly. After I retired from the army after a few years I went to my daughters school and work their security which included the parking and flow of vehicular movement and parking. Vehicles were made to park facing forward, (it was not a rule before I got there) speed limit was 5 mph, easy to determine, Parents/ guardians HAD to obey the Parking regulations and the guards . There were three of us, with movement of over 900 cars in the morning and the same in the afternoon. Violators would not be a loud to enter school property/parking lot if they violated any rules , including faculty and staff. Students were not a lound to park in the side the parking lot. There was a separate lot for them and same rules applied and permissionto bring vehicles to school ( not that a student had anything to do with this article)from the parents with copies of all the proper paper work on the vihicle.

But alas things like this do happen in school and other parking lots. The mother SHOULD have been aware were the child was, the driver, could have parked facing forward, but she didn't and for her I feel sorry. As to the mother well it is hard to keep an eye on an almost 2 year old, but we are the adults and should know you can't take your eyes off of them for even a second. I feel very sorry about the child and the mother will have to live with this all her life. The thing is that this type of accident happens all the time and just not reported in the media more often, and we are not including those backing out of their home garages who have run over their children.. Peace be unto all the victims of this tragedy.

Pray Hard~There are such things as accidents. Where do you think the word "dent" comes from? Gawww! In a perfect world, accidents don't happen. Guess what, this ain't no perfect world. I'm not trying to excuse this horrible incident (there's that word "dent" again), but really, accidents happen. Lighten the eff up.

My condolences to the family, I know their hearts hurt.

Go pray in a corner and before you do wash your mouth out. You don't have the only truth or way of looking at things. And insulting people keeps your screen name in good standing, because I have come to expect that type of attitude and response with people with screen names like yours

PrayHard is right, If the driver had a Prius, then this tragedy would have never happened. Also If there were no SUVs, high school parking lots would be a perfectly safe place for large groups of toddlers to play. No longer would children be stripped of a privilege of this bountiful play land.

Really ???? Put an almost aveage almost 2 year behind a Pirus and you tell me then that you can see it ( the child ).

OMG, the SUV did it.

I have a little Suzuki and if a tiny child ran behind it I wouldn't see him/her. We don't know what happened and I see no reason to assume the mother is awful. Really...compassion, people, if you don't know any facts that indicate otherwise.

Omg can you even imagine being the one who accidently backed over a child causing a death? My sincere condolences to the mother and I hope the other woman, who will never be the same, can find a way to cope. This is truly awful.

The Prius would be silent and more likely to hit a child because they don't hear it.

prayhard:

There is a reason both of your comments were collapsed by so many. Please........, never have children, stay away from ours. Your mental conditions are such that you don't belong around children!

My deepest sympathies to both ladies & their families, may the child rest in peace.

What this country needs is a lot more patience, and understanding. Everyone always ready to judge a situation based on 2 sentences in a report. Anyone who has been a parent has had a moment when they put the baby down turned and he was 15 feet away, if not, keep living and you will. Think if the entire world should judge you based on that one moment. While you are mourning the loss of the baby. And the driver of the SUV will also carry this forever, a moments lapse and a child is dead. Very sad. How do we fix it? Stop judging and help the young mother carry the baby and all it's stuff. A morning show years ago showed an entire kindergarten class concealed behind the average SUV. That's when I bought back up sensors for my car. Small investment to be sure I never accidently back over my grandchildren or the cats. (Even though I don't drive an SUV but all cars have blind spot there.)

Some of you people are so judgmental and post hateful comments. This was an accident, an unfortunate accident. Stop placing blame and have some compassion. Two families are devestated and will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. Accidents happen, unfortunately.

Excellent point skrewdworld. Even a reverse beeper, as is required in trucks, may have brought attention to the child.

Skrewd, I raised two of my own and one from another, all boys. I did the best I could, but there were a thousand times that a tragedy could have happened. We are all extremely fortunate if we can get our children to adulthood without tragedy. Mine are grown and fine, but as long as things move, and children run and play, anything can happen. I don't understand those looking down their noses at two people that will always have this incident in the back of their minds. And for the grace of God, I could have been in either of their shoes.

Yes, that makes sense! We try our best, but things do happen sometimes. I remember when my son was maybe about 3 I had his hand (yes, I was very conscious of him all the time) and we were walking in front of our apartment to cross the street to go into town. The road was a really busy one and we were waiting for the light to change when he saw something on the other side he wanted, got all excited and jerked his hand from mine and took off running into the street.

I ran after him, grabbed him back and made sure he understood that was never okay and so forth, but what if I hadn't been able to catch him? He would surely have been killed and there I was with full attention on him, chatting with him and firmly holding his hand! If we had been in a parking lot with cars backing out and I had things in my other arm I have no idea if I could have caught him.

Maybe she is a horrible mom or maybe the child got away for a moment. We just don't know and I don't understand why some seem to need to always assume things that aren't often even how the tragedy happened.

How sad and awful for all involved. Makes a case for all vehicles to have the technology to avoid this.

Parents have 2 built in highly technological features to prevent things like this, Hands and eyes.

dasvet-Not sure if you think I was judging either lady. Absolutely not the case. Have four kids, sons 30 and 17, and daughters 21 and 19. I totally agree that a multitude of things can and do happen as they grow up. Especially for my 19 year old. We teasingly called her dump truck as she was so accident prone and I teasingly told her I would wrap her up in bubble wrap to protect her from her silly accidents. EX: new 10 speed hit her brakes two hard and flipped right over the handle bars, Tripped over her own feet trying to run in flip flops resulted in scrapes and bruises. Could go on all day about kids and minor accidents. By the tone of some posters I guess I should being doing life in prison, LOL, (sarc).

I was just commenting, not judging you. With some posters here today, I would be right there in an adjacent prison cell. We watch them to the best of our abilities, because we love them, but sometimes things happen that unfortunately could not be avoided. I was at a basketball game with one of my kids about five) in the seat right beside me when I heard "Hey, Dad!" coming from above. I looked up and he was about twenty feet above my head, sitting on a two foot wide I-beam. I learned, after a while, that he had climbed up a small I-beam about six inches wide, angled from one I-beam to the two foot wide one. If he had fallen, he could well have died that night.

It is amazing how many people, especially in the media, treat the SUV as if it has a mind of its own or that the driver is evil for driving one. This sounds as though it's a tragic accident, nothing more. If you still need to point fingers at someone, point them at the mother of the toddler for allowing her child to wander away. I personally don't blame her entirely. Kids are difficult to control every single moment.

Dasvet-Thanks for claifying. When I started reading this story there were only 5 actual comments. Then more post and it sometimes gets confusing, just who is talking to who?? Guess that's a draw back to written communication!! Do enjoy reading your posts.

I cannot BELIEVE how many of you idiots would excuse such negligent driving from ANYONE!!!!! It is THE DRIVERS RESPONSIBILITY to make sure he or she DOES NOT RUN ANYONE OVER!!!! bottom line

She KNEW about the crowded parking lot. She KNEW about the blind spot and still, she backed up without help from someone to insure the safety of those around her vehicle, KNOWING ABOUT THE BLIND SPOT and the people in the parking lot!!!!!

The driver is ALWAYS responsible for the safety of those around him or her!!!!!!

pamela
your a view is a waste of space and time. Stuff happens all the time but saying the driver is at fault in this your dead wrong. she was not given a ticket so she did not break any laws so how is it her fault? oh that right you never make mistakes driving do you well if you say you dont one your a lier everyone does.

You mean never take a small child into a parking lot? Just clarifying there..lol.

Sorry your post was collapsed Tag. And so quickly too. Some people just can't handle the truth. Your story truly defines the breakdown of the nuclear family and the resulting consequences. I've heard enough about "single moms" being somehow heroic.

Speaking of smugness. Rev and Tag, you both are just lovely people. I'm glad Tag's post was collapsed since it needed to be, and I hate to tell you this, but children in two parent homes with natural fathers get abused and killed too. And all both you can do here is smugly and arrogantly (and hatefully) turn this into something it isn't. It isn't about anything but this one mother whose child (for reasons we don't know at all) who got hit by an SUV. That is it. It isn't a statement on mothers, race, politics, or anything else no matter how hard you want it to be. Grow up and go find a couple of hearts. The nuclear family produces killers and abusers just as any type does and some parents are horrid whether they are part of your ideal family or not, while some single moms are doing a great job. Go find a heart somewhere.

@ ram:

"and I hate to tell you this, but children in two parent homes with natural fathers get abused and killed too."

No doubt, but according to the Federal Child Maltreatment reports, the Center for Disease Control, the American Psychiatric Foundation among many others, children are safest in two parent homes where the natural father is present. The actual breakdown of abuse is mothers acting alone, mothers in conjunction with a paramour / step-parent, the paramour / step-parent acting alone, mother in conjunction with the father and last the father acting alone.

There is a new clinical term recently coined called "neonaticide" which applies to newborns killed within the first 24hrs. almost always by the mother. Those mothers are usually single, poor, have no prenatal care and no extended family support system. Kind of like the mothers Tag is describing.

There you go, more cold "hateful" statistics. If by citing them you find me smug and arrogant so be it. But the truth is, according to the sources I've cited, America has seen a 25% increase in child abuse and murder since 1985. I make no apologies for making people aware of that.

My point is assuming "no mother would let that happen to her child" flies in the face of facts.

For more info watch this interview:

Katty Kay-Morning Joe

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/most-children-who-die-from-abuse...

Apparently Katty Kay is as heartless, smug, arrogant and hateful as I am.

I'm sorry but where in the article did it say that the mother was a single mother?? Two parent households also have situations where only one parent is available to go to this one event.

This is one article about one toddler who was hit by an SUV in a parking lot. Rev, you had to turn this into an opportunity to further your agenda of how horrid mothers are. I am sorry you were so hurt...really I am...but there are many, many loving and wonderful mothers around too. You assume so much about mothers, single mothers (no one said she was one anyway), her household, and her behavior, and it is based on your filter from your childhood at least in part. This is about HER, not mothers who kill their kids, and there is no reason to think from what is in the article that any of that is the case here. Yes, parents kill their children sometimes and it is awful, but that doesn't make every mother guilty because she is a mother and therefore most likely guilty of some kind of neglect.

Rev has stated on another forum that he holds mothers collectively responsible for child abuse. Just a little insight into his thinking.

Certainly Sandy, insomuch as that forum was holding all men collectively responsible for rape. Such events,"walk a mile in her shoes" and "slut walks" are based on the premise that "all men are potential rapists." (I know you disagree with that.)

My point there was the same. Without intervention, the horrific experiences some children endure from a very early age can manifest themselves in adulthood through all kinds of bad, self destructive and criminal behavior. That includes rape. If you want to stop rape, as well as any other criminal behavior, we must prevent child abuse and help it's victims to heal.

Parading a bunch of men around in high heels and spouting about "male privilege," rape culture" and the evils of "the patriarchy" doesn't come close to addressing the core issue.

ram: Here's a description of the tragedy from Yahoo! News. Doesn't sound like a split second occurrence.

"Most of the crowd had gathered for the softball game when Brady's mother went to get something out of her car in the parking lot. The boy wandered away, and Brady's mother noticed the SUV backing up.

"She witnessed the car backing over her child," Hutchinson said. "She yelled to get the driver's attention, but by then it was too late."

Must be nice to be a perfect parent. I raised four children (all still alive thank God) and I know accidents can happen no matter how attentive you are.

No, Rev, YOU brought up the point about men being potential rapists (a view which neither I nor any woman I know holds, but you attributed to us, anyway, based on the fact that we have ovaries), AFTER I called you out about holding all women responsible for child abuse.

Evidently you've never heard feminist leaders like Germaine Greere, Andrea Dworkin or Gloria Steinem use the term. Where do you think it came from? Just because you contend "we don't say that anymore" doesn't negate the fact that it is the basis of much contemporary feminist philosophy.

Regardless, the event we were discussing does hold all men responsible for rape. What's the difference?

RevSpinnaker: You are a total idiot! It is not okay to RUN ANYONE OVER, MUCH LESS A CHILD! No matter what goes on around a driver, THE DRIVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENTS WHEN BEHIND THE WHEEL OF ANY AUTO!

If a driver has a blind spot, then they must insure the safety of crowds in parking lots, by having another person stand behind the SUV, and signal when the blind spot is clear.

IT IS CLEARLY THE DRIVER WHO HAS KILLED THE CHILD, AND NOT THE PARENT OR ANYONE ELSE. You, however are an idiot!

Pamela: FYI according to all the recent research at least five children have died of abuse or neglect in America since this article was posted. And at least another five will die today and tomorrow and the next day and next... What's your excuse for them?

How in the hell did this turn into a discussion about single parent households, rape, and feminism?

It was a tragic accident, nothing more.

They weren't in the conversation, Rev. You were the one blaming all women for child abuse and neglect, just as you are assuming that this mother, like your mother, was a bad one. Like all mothers, in your opinion, as you've shown on this board and several others. I'm with ram - you need help to deal with the fact that your project your mother's actions on ALL mothers. ALL are guilty of neglect or abuse, in your book.

And no, the event didn't hold all men responsible; it was just men speaking out agains rape.

Ahh, so now I get your attitudes and posts. I am sorry all that happened to you, but I suggest some therapy to help you get past your anger toward mothers. Mine did horrible things to me, but I don't sit and judge all mothers I might feel aren't perfect. Please get some help so you can be happy and at peace with whatever happened to you and don't let it change how you see life in a negative way.

Oh puleeze ram, who's being smug and arrogant now? To paraphrase:

'Ahh, now I get it. You were abused. So was I. I know what's best for you. You need help.'

FYI: Back in the mid-80's I was part of the help. I was working with a very forward thinking group of men who were some of the first to deal openly with sexually abusive childhoods. We formed the first group therapy sessions for men at the Ravenswood Hospital in Chicago. We also did panel discussions at survivors conferences including a national DCFS Convention and the Phyllis Levy Radio Show at WLS. I personally wrote articles on the issue for the Chicago Sun-Times including one with the late Jeffrey Zaslow.

Our group also phone blitzed Oprah producers to include men in her shows about child sexual abuse. They actually complied way back in 1987. A foremost expert in the field, Mike Lew, was there with some of his patients. I spoke briefly from the audience. That was the last time Oprah included men for 25 years, until her last seasons "200 Man Show." Why? Ratings? Politics?

She also failed to mention her mother abandoned her and she went to live with her paternal grandmother where she excelled. Her grandmother fell ill and she was forced to go back to live with her mother. Her mother locked her out of the house the first night she arrived and made the eight year old Oprah sleep on the porch. That's when the sexual abuse started. She didn't mention that until her very last show. Both of her step siblings have died of overdoses. Such are the consequences of pathological malnurturing.

Does knowing the reality of abusive Oprah's mother make all mothers abusive? Of course not. But apparently talking about female perpetrators and male victims makes for bad ratings and is definitely not politically correct.

No, I don't know what's best for you, but I do see where the filter comes from at least in part. I wasn't really referring to Oprah and didn't see her mentioned in this article either, but my point remains. So some mothers and fathers and all other relatives are abusive and it sucks. But still have nothing to do with people thinking they "know" this mother is abusive or neglectful. Maybe so, maybe not, but this case was the one in the article and not Oprah or any other one.

ram, could one suppose the Rev hates all women because of his Mommy? He sounds nothing like anyone that could use Reverend in his name. He probably hasn't had female contact his entire life, except for his Mother Cruella..

@Ram, I've read most of your post's on this page and all I can say is what I said this morning, the baby should have been in a stroller or in the mother's arms, the baby was only 22 months old. At that young age walking around in a parking lot, who was supposed to see the baby while backing out--can't/couldn't be done.

Blah, Blah, Blah, Rev!!!! This is not about child abuse and neglect.....so get it right! The DRIVER killed a small child, because of her negligence to insure the safety of those in her blind spot!

This is simple, you idiot. No one killed the child but the driver of the SUV!!!!

If you'd been reading my posts I agreed earlier that all vehicles should be equipped with at least a reverse beeper. Motion detectors would be even better.

It's still unfounded if this was a case of deliberate "neglect." Police are justified to investigate all child deaths for potential abuse.

Rev, a friend told me about your post, so I came back to this denial pool for a moment to reply to you. You might be interested to know that loads of people have emailed me about this thread, expressing agreement with my earlier posts. I guess a lot of people are a little intimidated to risk the usual character assassination that passes for discussion here.

I was blessed with good parents but my best friend wasn't. She spent a significant amount of her childhood at my house and half the time her mom didn't even know where she was. At first my mother would call to let her mom know, but after awhile stopped bothering because either her mom wasn't even home or didn't express the least concern about where her daughter was.

This isn't about bad driving. It's impossible to see in all directions at the same time when you're backing up anything--even a Volkswagen. It's about a mother who abandoned her toddler in a parking lot instead of hanging on to his hand or carrying him. There is only one reason: she is a breeder, not a mother. As apparently was your so-called mother.

Rather than making you a broken person--as some here would like to imply--it makes you a person who is personally knowledgeable about a situation that is becoming endemic as more and more selfish, self-absorbed people have children because they are too irresponsible to use birth control or want the attention from a so-called "baby bump."

I have a theory about mommies these days. No, not all mothers, of course. But in the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in female infertility. Can't remember the exact number, but something like a 40% increase. I think that for some women getting pregnant has become a status symbol--like driving a BMW. Baby as bragging rights. I think that's why you see so many pregnant women in skin-tight clothing.

As for the going-on 12 group here, God help their kids, because they obviously can't be bothered. I raised kids and yes, I know they can move fast and get away from you and all that. But you just don't let that happen in an obviously dangerous place like a parking lot.

As for the person whose child climbed out on a ledge in a stadium, and who thinks that means it could happen to anyone, it actually means you were so absorbed in the game that you didn't watch your kid. It means you are an irresponsible parent and your kid is lucky to be alive--no thanks to you.

Hey patter: Thanks for the encouraging words. Wow, character assassination doesn't begin to describe what I've put up with, all because I make people aware of maternal child abuse. Far from being broken, bitter and "hating all women, mothers and puppies" I've turned what I've learned from my abusive childhood into advocacy. By the way, I was lucky to have a wonderful father who did everything he could for his family despite my mother. He was a great role model. A lesser man would have bolted. Mom was like those women in the film "The Help."

You may be interested in a provision I've written for Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) "Violence Against Children Act."

Congressional Bill S. 1370 was sponsored by Barbara Boxer [D-CA] and introduced in 2009. The last actions pursuant to the bill were that it was read twice and then referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. I propose the following punitive guidelines to the Committee, to be established in accordance with the redefinition of child abuse in terms of Pathological Malnurturing, as the foundation of the Violence Against Children Act. The Malnurturing format of defining child abuse clarifies succinct categories of specific criminal pathologies, with assigned punitive ramifications. As a legal definition “neglect” is vague, ineffective and antiquated. “Felony neglect” is an oxymoron, not a viable sentencing guideline.

Definitions of the Pathologies of Malnurturing.

Abandonist: Deliberate emotional and affectionate rejection of a child.

Isolationist: Social and/or physical isolation of a child, with deliberate intent to allow the child to fall into harms way. *Includes but not limited to, failure to report the abuse, disappearance or death of a child.

Opportunist: Having or exploiting a child for personal gain, sadistic gratification or profit, including but not limited to, selling a child into prostitution or slavery. Using a child to seek revenge against a spouse.

The motivations for Malnurturing.

Delusional: Harming a child as a result mental illness and/or alcohol and drug addictions. Also, but not limited to, cult or religious fanaticism, as with denial of medical care or the Jim Jones massacre.

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: Physically or psychologically abusing a child to garner attention by creating false medical traumas, illnesses and psychoses. The later is particularly applicable in “reality TV” i.e. Munchausen by Dr. Phil.

Homicidal: Susan Smith, who brutally drowned her two boys, to be free to divorce her husband and marry a wealthy man.

Sentencing guidelines for these Pathologies are assigned according to:

a) results in emotional and/or psychological damage to a child.

b) results in physical and/or sexual abuse, starvation, disappearance or abduction of a child.

c) results in the death of a child.

P.S. Interesting point about fertility. I knew more twins were being born as a result of fertility drugs but never made the correlation.

Also remember, SUV's don't kill people. People kill people.

Sharon--I agree--I had a set up for my toddlers that was a vest that had a "leash" that velcroed to my wrist, and I got SO many ugly comments from people who claimed I was treating my kids like a dog, and my response was always "so you let your dog run out into the street and get run over? If not, why would you let your KID do that?"

But then again, my kids were spaced out so that I never had more than one toddler at a time. And that was deliberate.

MOmaid: Kudos for good mothering. Family planning to ensure each toddler was given the attention they need (and deserve). And I've seen kids with vests and leashes before. They're a great idea. And obviously you loved your kid more than you cared about the "ugly comments."

I've always thought those little harnesses w/ the tether were a good idea. Those little critturs are amazingly fast.

Also, could that mother have kept the kid in the car while she chatted (windows rolled down, of course)? I think it could've been easier to keep one eye on the kid at all times that way.

Bubba, I read something a long time ago where a tethered child fell through a railing and wrapped the cord around his neck as he fell. The report said the child died of a broken neck. No system is fool-proof, just as no workplace can be totally safe from an idiot. There will be more capable idiots born next.

Sharon, it is the driver who is responsible for killing a small child, not the parent, and quit excusing that negligent woman who knew about the blind spot but backed up and killed a child!

Driver responsibility is about insuring the safety of those around you and not killing anyone when you are behind the wheel of a car.

We ALL know about blind spots and how difficult it is to see all around when backing up, and it is ultimately the responsibility of the driver not to kill small children or ANYONE around you car when backing up in a crowed parking lot.

INEXCUSIBLE!!!!!!!

Who is responsible to care for the well being of their infants???The parent who bore then or others who did not????

Yes, a driver ought to look first, but the parent has ultimate resonsibility over their kids according to common sense and the law.

There really is not enough information in this article for any readers to have any idea what this mother is like. Sure, she could have been careless and just chatting away with someone, oblivious while her kid ran around in the parking lot. Or, she could have had the toddler from hell, who spent his or her time running away and making it well nigh impossible to hold on to. I had a kid who would not let me carry her, wouldn't ride in a stroller, ran away all the time, you name it. To deal, we barely ever left the house because if I was restraining her in some way--like holding her hand or carrying her to keep her safe--she was busy screaming like a banshee and everybody gave me dirty looks. There was more than once when I was carrying my other child and a bag of baby gear, trying to wrestle with her to keep her by the hand, and she broke away and ran down the sidewalk ahead of me. It was a freaking nightmare to catch her. So being that this mother is no doubt broken hearted that her child is now dead, maybe we can withhold some judgment and leave that for the authorities and witness who have actual evidence. We have no idea how this went down.

Lee, you sound like a great mom. I wish I had one like you. No doubt we should not pass judgement but a child is dead. As you say we must, "leave that for the authorities and witness who have actual evidence."

Read tag's previous post. There needs to be an investigation for a pattern of "neglect" to protect other children who may be in her care.

Reverend, Just because you had an abusive parent doesn't make the mother in this case one. You're projecting to someone and a situation which you know nothing of. People, This is MSNBC for pete's sake. The best you're going to get is a teaser from this news source.

There are parents who do everything right and still, children die. I've seen a mother who's toddler died in her arms. I saw how she fell apart. I saw how her husband lost not only his son, but soon, his wife too because of the accident. I've also seen how parents are drawn closer due to these tragedies. Not every parent is negligent. Not every parent is abusive. So why do you people insist on piling on this poor woman who just lost her world?

We have one of the lowest child mortality rates in the world. Yet, it will never be zero.

Rev, you really do need help. Accusing this mother of being like yours or wanting her child to be killed is just sick. Please, get some help so you can release some of your anger toward mothers. You are indeed projecting.

I think the Rev is a bed wetter, and has never gotten over it.

Actually you're right Dasvet, that along with cold sweats and night terrors from being raped. All tacitly approved by mom. That's the kind of thing that happens when women like you and Joy Behar make jokes about "mothers who pick out one of their kids just to hate them."

ram: Women do deliberately set kids up for all sorts of horrible things including being killed. New forensics have police rethinking cases of SIDS (crib death) and preventable tragedies such as this one. Note I have not blamed this women in any manner. I am merely stating that a child dies every five hours in the US and most under suspicious circumstances.

Oh well, Rev, that explains it very well. Just go on projecting your pitiful childhood on all others, even when you know nothing of the situation. As for Oprah, or Dr Phil, I would rather have a root canal than to listen to that bs for five minutes. I will do a little of your projections, such as most all counselers are unhealed mental cases trying to advise sick people. Head doctors have the highest suicide rates. You seem to fit the pattern very closely. It was just sick for you to state that the child's mother got what she deserved. You should be locked up in a straight jacket.

@ Dasvet:

" It was just sick for you to state that the child's mother got what she deserved."

Where did I say that? I'm simply stating child deaths should be investigated. Doing a little projection yourself perhaps. Not just on me but psychologists too, "counselers are unhealed mental cases trying to advise sick people." "Head doctors have the highest suicide rates." Citations please. I believe skilled trades like dentistry, health workers and law enforcement are the highest.

Your lack of sensitivity is surprising for a woman.

By the way, the spell check is that little ABC icon to the right on the tool bar.

Dear Rev, you appear to be an idiot

This is a truly sad tragedy for both families. Both women will live with that horrific moment for the rest of their lives. My prayers will be for both families.

I was hit as a pedestrian in a school parking lot on the last day of school before Christmas break several years ago. The father knew he hit me, he said sorry through his windshield. Then he got out of his car and walked away. I waited to make a police report at home because my youngest was in the car was going through his goody bag from class {who has special needs}. I sustained back and hip problems.

I'm 5'1", when I walk past most SUVs, I'm shorter than their windows, even some cars for that matter.

My oldest child, when we adopted him at 2 1/2, was a runner. No matter how tight I held his hand, he managed to slip away and run fast as the wind. In a flash, he was gone, I never ran so much. I got a harness for him. I was challenged on the street by college students, older people, etc. as we took walks around our small rural town. I didn't care, I knew he was safer. I found several parks that were large and fenced in where he could run to his heart's delight, and did he. I used the harness again when he was older and had outgrown the stroller and #2 child came along, who was 4 months.

Even as a teen, my oldest wandered off in a store, and I had to ask security to find him. It took us 30 minutes to find him. He had gone to the men's cologne "department" to try on testers.

I considered myself a viligant mother in watching over my children but sometimes things did happen. Two young boys couldn't resist running through clothes racks in stores bacame the bane of my existence as mom. They learned quickly about consequences to those behaviors.

If you do a search on "Pennsylvania Toddler Accident" you will find that just being from north of the Mason Dixon line doesn't seem to impart perfection in child care - "Toddler killed in Tractor Accident" Toddler in Hay Wagon Accident Dies", Girl, 2, Drowns in Pool", "Toddler Injured in Mall Escalator Accident".

If Pennsylvania was so great, you'd have to be an idiot to move down here with us yahoos. Get the stick out of your own eye before you go after the splinter in mine.

Hey Florida guy!...HAH you got the "yahoo" part right......

You made my point for me Floridaguy.........

Rom1--from PA I'm sure you'll appreciate this--I live in central MO and there is a big Mennonite community around here, and when you see the families go to Wal-mart, there are nearly ALWAYS too many children for the parent to hold their hand--BUT the older kids hold the hands of the younger ones, and they move together in a little pack with NONE of them 'running away' from the tight little group.

NONE of those kids looks "cowed'' or abused--they just look like they were brought up in a family that teaches them from very young to OBEY their parents and other elders. And I have NEVER seen any of those kids running down the aisles in the store. Or whooping and hollering.

There IS something to be said for 'the good old days'.

The Amish are the same way. And when was the last time you read about "turf wars" and "gang violence" in their communities.

MOmaid - Guess you missed the article in the NY times in which an Amish woman is asked how they get their kids to behave so well and sit through 3-hour services...the woman says "it's the spanking that makes them nice." The article is a hoot (I'll have to look it up and post the dates)! The "good old days" featured lots of spanking...read Little House in the Prairie if you've forgotten.

I agree w/you .100% But you no I was born & raised here 64 years ago . And it gets worst,every year. But I also wander are these kind of people from Florida, or is it Florida gets all the mishap.

How did abusive fathers enter into this? The sad fact is most children are killed by their mothers.

Now I am really feeling sorry for you, Rev. How sad to go through life stating "facts" you need to be true. Geez...to heck with all the good moms out there. Focus on the troubled or awful ones to justify your hatred of moms. Please get help.

ram: Again, cut the condescending crap.

"How sad to go through life stating "facts" you need to be true."

First, I don't "need" the facts to be true. They are true. Second, I was completely unaware of these facts until just recently. Here's the way I came upon them.

Who was Demond Reed? Demond Reed was four years old when he was beaten to death by his father's cousin, 37 year old Carla Poole. Demond's father was jailed for a parole violation on a pot charge and was forced to leave his son with her. She beat Demond over the course of days, finally having her own two children, ages four and six, hold the child down while she beat him to death. Her eleven year old daughter witnessed the murder. The woman left bite marks on the boys torso, he vomited his last breaths. She then coached her children to lie to the police.

Carla Poole was no Casey Anthony. Other than local coverage and a blip in the national news, the Demond Reed murder was never mentioned by the press. As opposed to the extent of coverage for Casey Anthony. Sexy sells, even child murder. Children die anonymously every day at the hands of their mothers or in conjunction with a male partner, usually not the child's natural father. Demond's Law is designed for them and countless others who survive abusive childhoods.

Motivation for Demond's Law. I was checking the morning news shows in February of 2008 to hear more about the terrible murder of this little boy. Not to be found. Instead I was confronted with Eve Ensler & Jane Fonda promoting the 10^th Anniversary Convention of the Vagina Monologues, which had already been condemned by the Hague for tacit approval of drunken lesbian child molestation. In their rant about “stopping violence against women & girls” Jane dropped the C - bomb, apparently to punctuate their anti-male screed.

Child Abuse Statistics. Thanks to Eve & Jane blaming all manner of violence exclusively on men, I decided to look-up who actually kills the most children. Two mouse clicks later, at the Center for Disease Control website, I found that American women kill more of their own children than any other mothers in the industrialized world. A 25% increase since 1985. The stats were corroborated by the American Psychiatric Foundation and others.

Oprah Winfrey to speak. That April, Oprah was to be the keynote monologer at the big V-Day Convention in New Orleans, headlining a “star studded act” of actors and musical guests. I thought, what a perfect time & place to deliver the message about America's Matriarchal Oppression & Violence. But how? How could I subvert this event to make an emphatic point about those abhorrent maternal child abuse and murder statistics?

The Chick-Chat-Challenge. I developed a protest idea that was smart, simple, cheap and doable. It also would have laid the maternal child abuse issue on Oprah's front door, literally, and demanded a response. The protest was to consist of a thousand pink helium balloons, each with a Tampon attached to a shiny ribbon. The Tampons would bear the cryptic message, “Do you have the balls for the Chick-Chat-Challenge?” They were to be released in front of the V-Day Convention along with some pink smoke and funky harpsichord music. The Tampons would act as ballast so the balloons would linger around. The follow-up protest was to take place a couple weeks later, on Mother's Day, in front of Harpo Studios in Chicago. Protesters were to chant “You're #1” and brandish signs with the abysmal statistics about America's Maternal Child Abuse and Murder Crisis.

The greatest protest that never happened. I mentioned my protest idea to a few people I knew from 'the media' and may have inadvertently started some cyber-rumors. Oprah was among eleven, out of seventeen headline acts, to back-out at the last minute. Ensler was reportedly weeping backstage and there were threats of class-action lawsuits. There was a press blackout of the convention which is uncharacteristic of the P.T. Barnum of Feminism. Could the ironic notion of exposing the hypocrisy of ranting about “stopping violence against women & girls” coming from women who don't even know they kill the most children in the industrialized world, have kept Oprah and the rest away? Eleven out of seventeen no-shows, that's a lot. Maybe it was the sushi, but it sounds more like 'the pink flu' to me.

Oprah more inclusive. Since that spring in 2008 there has been a noticeable difference in Oprah Show programming. She's recently dealt with some horrific maternal abuse cases like pandering, starvation and caged confinement. Not at all “hot topics” for the Daytime Viewing crowd. She's also expressed the need for stricter punishment for maternal abusers. Did cyber-rumors of the Chick-Chat-Challenge have an influence?

Probably not.

Do you think the tone of these posts would be different if it were a man who let his daughter "wander" into harms way?

No.

ram, skrewdworld, 1POV, Sandy: I was looking for the Orlando Sentinal article about the third person who was taking Brady back to the game. I keyed in "SUV toddler death." Seems lots of kids are killed by SUV's. The majority are run over, but several died of heat stroke as a result of being left in the vehicle for four or five hours. Let's see there was one in Dallas, Houston, near San Antonio, Waco, and the most recent in Akron OH.

Charges were brought against the Akron case because it was a child care provider who simply forgot about the kid. Charges were filed in one of the other cases, but the rest, they were just terrible "accidents." Heck, turn your back on a kid in a sweltering car for several hours and... It's every parents worst nightmare. But golly gee, it could happen to anybody.

The Kansas-based advocacy organization Kids and Cars says the child is the fourth to die in a hot vehicle in Texas this year and the 10th in the nation. Texas rates highest in the US for child abuse.

On the other hand, if you are a male and black circumstances may be quite different.

From The Commercial Appeal, of Memphis TN:

"Toddler dies in SUV; father charged with criminally negligent homicide

Reniyah died Sunday evening when she got caught in a power window while her father, Reginald Ballard, 24, was inside a fast-food restaurant. He has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

Police say that at about 8:15 p.m. on Sunday, Ballard, went inside the Captain D's restaurant at 2238 Frayser Blvd., leaving his three children alone in the 2004 Ford Expedition with the engine running. The other two children are 6 months old and 4 years old.

Reniyah was in the back seat and was looking out the window when the power window was engaged, trapping her between the glass and the door frame.

Ballard told police he was in the restaurant for 7-10 minutes and when he came out, he found that his daughter's airway had been cut off."

Negligent homicide... do you see a slight disparity here?

He left 3 kids alone in a running car? Imagine the crucifixion this mother would be going through if that were the case here. Her crime was leaving the child with another adult while she returned to her car. I'd say there's a difference, wouldn't you?

Agreed. My sympathies run the gauntlet. Obviously the Child who died, his mother who witnessed it and the driver who now has to live with what happened. My prayers for all involved.

WOW Maureen: I guess that makes everything okay....What a warped sense of reality.....But you did "manage" your purse!...Kudos to you....Too bad your child is dead.

I completely agree. No one should be charged here.

She should be at least investigated for a pattern of "neglect."

I really don't know where you get this "pattern of neglect" from the very MINIMAL info in this story. All I can guess is that because of the abuse in your own childhood you see monsters lurking in the shadows every where you go? Am very sorry about the painful things your mother put you through but it doesn't mean all mothers are just looking to put their kids in harms way.

skrewdworld: Who's saying all mothers. My point is maternal abuse is so subtle it is very difficult to detect. In truly abusive situations there is a pattern of malnurturing that is often known to siblings and neighbors. That's how Joy Behar could get away with making a joke about "women who pick out one of their children just to hate them." She even followed that up with "we've all seen that!" And no one criticized her for it.

Read tag's previous post. I'm saying we can't assume it was a terrible accident when a child ends up dead.

And you can't assume she is a horrible mother based on your own childhood. You are seeing things through your own filter...I say that sincerely.

Never did I put my child down to wrangle my purse and close the door...It is not that hard to hold a child's hand and kick a door closed or smack it shut with your butt! Now what I do see, are little kid's standing by mom's legs, while she is texting and preoccupied with her cell phone!

ram: I don't doubt your sincerity. But you are making assumptions too, based on your life experience.

You say," You are seeing things through your own filter..."

I might say you are seeing things through rose colored spectacles.

agreed! accidents happen!

that said, as a caregiver of toddlers, I am SURE if such a horrific accident happened to a sitter or nanny, the posts here would be much worse ..aka "murder! she deserves the death penalty" !. And they would probably charge her.

Thing is, responsible caregivers seem less likely to accidently hurt or kill your child. Because we are PARANOID...He's not ours! it's like when a borrow a Book from a friend (I try to explain sometimes...I am WAY more careful with it than if it were mine! I am ANAL more than all my friends who are mothers! AND I am up on the very latest writing/studies/research on what is and is not safe (cribs bumpers etc). In my experience I cut corners around safety less, sometimes much less, than parents especially (this is a generalization) DADS.

I fear the day that a kid is seriously injured in my care, God forbid. The likely hood that it would be carelessness (ie "care-less"...which is NOT true) is very very small. THe likelyhood that it would be an understandable random incident on my part is LARGE...ie something that any parent would do. THe likely hood I would be BLAMED and villified would be HUGE, I am sure.

I hate that aspect of my work. Thus, I am anal. Because nothing protects me from being blamed for any tiny scratch on your child except for your trust of how careful I am. And that would go out the window as someone said, human nature tends to seek blame.

(such as if a three year old pulls away from my hand...first time ever...and runs into traffic, god forbid)

I don't trust them. They get locked in when I first arrive at the car (in carseat) and are the last thing I do before I leave the car (take them out of car seat). If I were to go to car to get something, he'd go into the seat ? and get my stuff, and he'd get out. OR, being less than 2, he'd be in umbrella stroller for safety.

But then, I am a caregiver and the toddlers I care for are not my own. I never relax my vigilance and loose track of a toddler in a parking lot. He can't "wander away" as the article says (who knows whats actually right? Maybe he pulled away from her and she went after him? that makes more sense) It is impossible for a toddler in my care to "wander away" because my attention is primarily on him...if he is not secured in stroller car seat or safe enclosed childproof place anything else I do is secondary. It surely is NOT relaxing.

Parents who are like this are smart. Most of my friends are mothers they all have an education and most are middle class (at least) and professional...and still. Most of them are not as vigilant as a nanny would be. (a mature responsible nanny) I think routine might lull parents into a false sense of security (again I've seen this VERY prevelently in DADS and of the njuries the children I've known have gotten it was almost always with DAD...that is my anecdotal observation). It is the wise parent who doesn't relax as some have posted here and think all is well because it usually is.

case in point:

child I cared for fell out of her crib from standing up postion and hit her head. why? a parent forgot to put the side of the crib up.

me? same crib. I told them those were recalled and why. They didn't get a new one. I was so paranoid that I could somehow Forget to put side up athat I would leave it up all day and haul the toddler OVER the bar. So, there was no way she could ever fall with me.

and

I learned htis because of experience. you see, ONE TIME with another child years ago I'd forgotten to put the rail up and took a few steps leaving the room and remembered. scared me.

The driver did not get cited. Her vehicle was impounded for an investigation. A problem with this story and most in the media is that reporting is practically non existant. Very little information and usually there is just enough speculation and innuendo to get the public stirred up. but the more "hits" a story gets the more money the sites make. Lousy reporting, no journalistic integrity what so ever any more. No concern about anybody or anything they write about.

slrewdworld

They report what they can actually get from news sources. That information is sometimes sparse and sometimes wrong.

You have a problem if you somehow think that this report is designed to get "people stirred up".

Your criticism is unwarranted and childish.

If you say so! Was watching a news show about that very thing this morning. Unforunately these reporters agreed that especially in the last couple of months some of the media have been highly inappropriate. I don't know why you choose a personal attack at me but that truly is your problem. I respect your right to your opinion. How about the same to others from you???

I agree that the media is irresponsible.
I take most of what I read with a grain of salt anymore.
Most of what is reported is half-baked and "spun" in order to grab headlines.

It was not an audition for worst parenting

That's a relief. Just imagine an MTV show about that!

Agree with piglizard. Too many self ordained hypocrites on this board. Sorry for the lost of the precious child. Question, why didn't the driver claim "stand your ground"?

@ boom! reason:

"That's a relief. Just imagine an MTV show about that."

They already do. It's called "Teen Mom."

You're right PigLiz, a tragic thing. What's sad are the people going on about how the mother should have maintained more control, been holding the kid. Hell, the wife and I raised four and at that age a parent can't be everywhere all the time. One day my next door neighbor backed over his kid, crushed the kid's head. Man, first thing he did was to come banging on my door because my wife was a RN. She wasn't home and later told me that she was damned glad she wasn't, what was she doing to do? Anyway, he didn't intend to do it, just one of those freaky-assed things that happen all the time. So, what did some neighbors say? "Dummy, how could you be so dumb, why weren't you watching, why this and that?" Did my next-door neighbor need that, does the mother in this case? Well, evidently some insensitive folks do.

It is just sad to see that children are not being taken care of properly and die. Prevention is so easy and so needed when it comes to lil ones!

The toddler should not have been unsupervised and i feel really bad for the parents but the driver of the SUV will never forget this . God bless you all.

T momma, there is no evidence that either of these two women were or were not being taken properly. Think about it, if you have children, are you sure that every second of every day of their lives you had total control over them? This not about "children" it was about ONE child that died, and circumstances could put all parents in that situation. There are no perfect people.

but for the grace of god go I, is my reaction

so glad I am not either woman

and

makes me remember to watch more closely for indications of possible tiny unaccompanied child behind my car. 22 months is short enough that backing in even my Honda Civic bumper would make me miss that child...and it's young enough to be a completely irrational age.

Well Marcey, it's good to know that you are the perfect parent and that nothing will every happen to any of your children. That would make you the only exception and the only perfect person since Jesus. But in the real world, life happens. Bad things happen to good people. A parent can do everything right and still children die. Although, I find it hard to believe that all this hateful condemenation could have never been directed at your children at one time or another. In which case, you're not the perfect parent.

Goodness, this all could have been avoided, it is called HOLDING YOUR CHILD'S HAND!! This is not the fault of someone having a BIG SUV.....this was after a high school game and people were leaving! This baby should never have been standing alone! Heck my youngest child is 10 and I still reach for her hand when walking in a parking lot! And it is not just "Soccer Mom's" who have SUV's! I have news for you that little baby would have been hard to see behind a small car as well. He should have been secured in a car seat or holding someone's hand......Mom was nearby.......please!! Poor baby, RIP! And to the driver, who will forever live with the guilt, may peace be with you as well.

No, it wasn't, Tamara Rae Clapp. This accident occurred before the game. The game was called in respect to the child's loss of life. Compassion and empathy fail along with reading comprehension fail.

Blame has yet to be assigned. The accident investigation has yet to be completed.

Not the drivers fault - you can't possibly see a small child when backing up - you don't expect there to be a small child in a school parking lot! The mother is completely to blame in this sad accidient - too bad she couldn't keep the baby in her arms till it was buckled in a seat belt - now the driver has to live with the tragedy that he or she ran over the child - She is the indirect cause of her child's death - hope NO one blames this driver!!!

She was taking care of her purse I heard.

Rom1-where did you hear this? It certainly wasn't said in this article.

Maybe she was looking for her cell phone in the purse ... but it was the SUV that killed the child ... according to the headline...

Judges. So many judges...few facts, but many judges.

Of course no toddler with a totally useless Mom, was ever run over by a SUV driven by a crazed killer woman, above the Mason-Dixon line. MSNBC is just using the situation to attack those horrible self-controlled SUV's.

Because children never die in car accidents in northern states.

This is tragic, and heartbreaking, but it could have been prevented if the mother was paying attention to the baby, period. Day in and day out I see small children and toddlers wandering around parking lots, stores, restaurants etc. and their parents are oblivious to the whereabouts of the child. It makes me cringe when I see toddlers racing across parking lots ahead of their parents, instead of their parent holding their hand. Or a parent putting groceries in the car first and letting their child wander around before the parent ever secures the child in its car seat. Tragedies can be prevented by applying a little forethought into our activities.

ok give what i have read patty for one here something for you to chew on. when i was 8 years old my older brother was 12 playing in a tree he fell and die. Is that my mother or fathers fault for my brothers death. Or was it just something that happen and god desided to take him from us?
i know very well what happen that day i read the police reports and know what killed my brother. As much as i miss him its not my mothers or my fathers fault just as its not the driver of that suv fault or the mothers of that child.
Any mother or father can tell you stuff happen in a blink of a eye. it not that you were watching your child. kids even at 22 month old have a mind of there own.
so in ending this post you a moron get off your high horse i have 5 kids i know every well what can happen in a blink of a eye.