Posted on Mon, Jun. 16, 2008
The Delaware County district attorney is considering whether to charge a Lansdowne man in the death of his 14-month-old grandson, who was left in the backseat of a car during last week's heat wave, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Nicholas McCorkle died at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the youngest victim of the summer's first stretch of sweltering heat.
The child had been in critical condition and on life support since Tuesday, after he spent nearly 5 1/2 hours in his grandfather's car.
According to Marple Township police, Edward Kanterman, 59, forgot to drop his grandson off at day care and went straight to work at the CHI Institute in Broomall, leaving Nicholas locked in the car on a day when temperatures reached the mid- to upper 90s.
Even if the investigation concludes the tragedy was an accident, Kanterman could face charges of involuntary manslaughter or endangering the welfare of a child, Assistant District Attorney Erica Parham said.
Kanterman declined to speak with a reporter yesterday. Nicholas' parents, Rebecca Kanterman, 21, and Chris McCorkle, 25, could not be reached for comment.
Patricia Karlton, who operates Little Angels of Drexel Hill, the day-care center that Nicholas attended nearly every day for six months, said she spent time at the hospital often last week with Rebecca Kanterman but couldn't bring herself to enter the room where Nicholas was being treated.
"I wanted to go in and hold his hand and pray, but he had six doctors around him," she said. "What good would I have done there?"
About 36 children die each year from heat-related illness after being left in cars, said Janette E. Fennell, founder and president of the national nonprofit advocacy group Kids and Cars.
Nicholas was the seventh child to die in a hot car this year nationally, she said, and the organization has found the numbers increasing as more parents put their children in backseats to avoid the dangers of front-seat airbags.
In a similar case in Philadelphia in 2002, Calvin Howell, then 54, forgot to drop his 21-month-old granddaughter at a babysitter's house before he went to work and left the girl in his car. Howell, of Southwest Philadelphia, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child, and reckless endangerment. He pleaded guilty in 2003 and was sentenced to five years of probation and 100 hours of community service.
On Tuesday morning, Edward Kanterman picked up his grandson at his daughter's home in Drexel Hill, intending to drop him off at day care before going to work as an instructor at the trade school, a routine he kept to three times a week, according to Marple Township police.
Karlton said she wasn't worried when Nicholas didn't show up because parents of the dozen children she cares for often neglect to call her or to return her calls.
Kanterman left his car in the parking lot at work about 8 a.m. He returned just before 1:30 p.m. and found Nicholas unconscious in the back. The child was rushed to Bryn Mawr Hospital and later transferred to Children's Hospital.
Fennell said the solution to preventing similar deaths lies in improved technology, not in blaming parents and caretakers.
"Just the slightest distraction can cause you to go on autopilot," she said.
"Everybody wants to believe it's a drugged-out parent," she said. "The truth is quite a bit far from that."
There are products available to warn drivers that they have left children in the car: One system connects a sensor in children's carseats to a device attached to the car keys, setting off an alarm if the driver walks more than 15 meters from the car.
Fennell said an alarm system or reminder light should be installed in every car.
"You have a reminder if you leave your keys in the ignition, if you leave your headlights on; there's a seat-belt sensor," she said, adding, "Nobody thinks that they need it. . . . Anything that can help remind people. These tragedies are totally preventable."
Contact staff writer Joelle Farrell at 610-627-0352 or jfarrell@phillynews.com.
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