Young Child Left in Day Care Van for Hours

Four-year-old Keshawn Harris attends a Kansas City pre-school during the week; and on Friday, the young boy was forgotten and left alone in the school van for more than six hours.

When the van arrived at the Children’s Place Preschool, Keshawn was never taken out of the vehicle by the driver. They arrived at about 9 a.m. and he was not removed until 2:15 in the afternoon.

Keshawn was found completely wet from sweating and urinating, was immediately taken to the hospital. The daycare did not contact Latanya Harris until an hour after finding the child and she was horrified by the news.

Her child explains to her how he was crying out for her the entire time. Ms. Harris does not understand how the driver and all of the caretakers were unaware of his absence.

Each morning when the van comes to collect the children, the adults are required to sign their names on a paper. This list of names then corresponds to the number of children in the van and they are to be compared upon arrival. She signed her name Friday morning, yet her son was still left behind.

The preschool claims full responsibility for the mistake and is investigating its organization for the reason behind not noticing his absence. Roxanne Hill is the vice president of the Children’s Place Preschool development and gives her full apologies to Keshawn and his mother. She does not know how this happened and is working to remedy the situation immediately.

Hill reported the school herself to social services and is prepared to face any punishment.

Keshawn has expressed his fear about getting back on the bus, but his mother has assured him that he will be safe from now on. The child has experienced a trauma that he will not soon forget.

Ms. Harris has not stated whether she will be pressing charges; however, she has requested an apology from the driver of the van. She received a hand-written letter from him and feels that it is sufficient for now. Keshawn feels more strongly about what the driver’s consequences should be: he exclaims that the driver “should get fired, go to jail, get punished, whatever.”

Negligence from caretakers is all too common, unfortunately. In this instance it seems that the daycare does not normally behave in this manner, and it is working quickly to correct the mistakes. However, many times caretakers or nursing homes/daycares ignore and abuse those who are dependent on them without remorse. If you feel that someone that you love is being mistreated by someone who is in charge of caring for him/her, contact an accident attorney today to achieve the proper justice.