Probe of tot's death outside Bucks center continues

For more than six hours, the toddler sat in the backseat of his caretaker's locked minivan, forgotten as the temperature outside climbed past 80 degrees.

By the time he was discovered - at 4:45 p.m., July 1 outside the Fairy Tales Day Care Center in Penndel, Bucks County - 2-year-old Daniel Slutsky was dead.

His parents sued the center this week, alleging negligence by those who "were under a legal and moral duty to provide competent and safe care" for him.

Among the defendants is the family's neighbor Rimma Shvartsman, an owner of Fairy Tales who had driven Daniel to the day-care center but who inexplicably failed to take him inside. The temperature in the closed van could have been at least 40 degrees higher than it was outside, according to published research.

Gil and Lyudmila Slutsky "feel completely betrayed," said Daniel S. Weinstock, one of their attorneys. "They trusted this person, and she completely let them down."

The Slutskys are devastated and declined to be interviewed, Weinstock said.

The suit is the latest of several efforts to assess blame for Daniel's death.

Police still are weighing possible charges against Shvartsman. State regulators closed the center July 7, but it reopened July 10 after it appealed in court.

Michael Mustokoff, an attorney for Shvartsman and the center, said he was not surprised by the lawsuit but declined to discuss details.

"From the very beginning, we have regarded this as a tragic accident," Mustokoff said. "The specifics will be addressed in the appropriate legal forum."

Many day-care centers have policies for checking on an absent child, such as calling the parents, Weinstock said.

"We believe this day-care center did have a policy like that, but did not follow it in this case," Weinstock said. "The family certainly did not receive a phone call."

That might have been because Shvartsman was the person who typically brought Daniel in, he said.

One area of disagreement is how often Shvartsman drove the boy to day care. Weinstock said it was a standing arrangement, three days a week. Mustokoff said that it was sporadic and that the Slutskys sometimes drove Daniel themselves.

"There was an issue as to the irregularity of his attendance, and I think that is the reason he was not missed," Mustokoff said. "As far as I know, it was an informal [driving] arrangement."

Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry did not return calls this week about the case. Investigators were to meet again with the Slutskys last night, Weinstock said.

Meanwhile, state regulators from the Department of Public Welfare have been trying to close the day-care center, citing safety and record-keeping violations, department spokeswoman Stacey Witalec said.

The DPW issued an emergency notice July 7 removing all children from the day care, but Fairy Tales obtained an injunction in Commonwealth Court, Witalec said.

A hearing on the dispute is scheduled for next week.