Suburban Mom Arrested For Child Endangerment

Suburban Mom Arrested For Child Endangerment

cbs2chicago.com

CRESTWOOD, Ill. (CBS) ― A south suburban mother was arrested on charges of child endangerment after leaving her baby in a car.

As CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports, Ellen "Treffly" Coyne says she took her children and one of their friends to donate a little more than $8 in change to the Salvation Army at a Wal-Mart store on Saturday.

Coyne says she left her youngest daughter, 2-year-old Phoebe, locked in her parked car a few feet away while she snapped a couple of photos.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Oh come on! This was a blatent "I haven't written enough tickets this week" kinda thing! I would leave my 2-year-old in the car for a few minutes if I was only going to be a couple feet away from the vehicle. I would(could) get arrested for that?
She hopes for an apology (and I hope she gets one) from the cops and hopes to have the charges dropped. Interesting article, indeed.

Stupid.
Cuhail

cbs2chicago.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

LOL. Try posting this on a popular parenting board and you will see WW3 break out.

I, as a mother, NEVER leave my child in the car alone....Im just too paranoid. LOL That is just the mother in me.

A few feet away? At Walmart? Where is there ever parking a few feet away from the front door of Walmart? That is nearly impossible.

At the Walmarts I have been too, there is NEVER any parking near the front door....esp a few feet away.

And in this day and age and holiday season....you never know who is casing the parking lots.

Im curious if this is the entire story...or even the truth.

I dont think she should have been arrested. But may be a good scolding. LOL


There is a law though

Under Illinois state law, parents who leave children in a car unsupervised for 10 minutes or more can be charged with child endangerment.

So if most people find this law outrageous, they should do something about it.

[edit on 13-12-2007 by greeneyedleo]

More than 10 minutes would be inexcusable unless you're literally standing next to the car. Not enough information has been provided to cast judgement though.

I helped a friend out with her kid for the first year of the kid's life and I would occasionally lock her (the kid) in the car to run into a store or something, but only if it was a store where I knew I could see my car from inside. Never for more than 10 minutes, that's for sure. Kid would be screaming by the time I got out if I did that.

If that's basically all this woman did, I don't see anything wrong with it. I'm more concerned with her statement that her children were left unsupervised when she was arrested.

Oh btw, at Walmarts around here it's fairly routine for people to park next to the curb right by the front door if they're picking up/dropping off or waiting for some reason. They're not supposed to per fire code and all, but I haven't seen anyone make a fuss over it. If that's what this lady did that would probably explain why the cop noticed the kid in the first place.

reply to post by apc

Oh btw, at Walmarts around here it's fairly routine for people to park next to the curb right by the front door if they're picking up/dropping off or waiting for some reason. They're not supposed to per fire code and all, but I haven't seen anyone make a fuss over it. If that's what this lady did that would probably explain why the cop noticed the kid in the first place

That makes sense. Here, there isnt a "curb" at our Walmart so, no cars ever park there....theyd get stopped pretty fast LOl

So, thats probably what she did...pull up the the curb and got out.

[edit on 13-12-2007 by greeneyedleo]

In AUST we have had quite a few cases where children have died due to being left in unattended in a car.

It became quite a trend for people who wanted to go to the casino and would leave their children in the car whilst they gambled.

What would have happened if the car had been stolen? Or perhaps another Maddy McCain scenario?

You don't leave your child alone period.

So, thats probably what she did...pull up the the curb and got out.

[edit on 13-12-2007 by greeneyedleo]

No, article clearly states she locked the vehicle and walked away.

Not just a quick, pull up, run out and throw clothes in some donation bin.

This woman deserves the death penalty!!!

Anyone who would endanger a child should be shot and killed!!

reply to post by Thurisaz


See that is my philosphy too. Why even take that risk? I would never.

Cops tell you to not even leave things out in the open on your seat (purse, package, etc). So why would someone leave a kid?



And your right. I re-read the article. Why on earth would she feel the need to LOCK her car, if it is [really] only a few feet away in her site? That makes no sense.




And with that said....the irony of the kids being left alone, as she was taken to the cop car. Hmpf Was she not allowed to call anyone? What happened w/ the kids in the end? Article doesnt say. Too many details left out

[edit on 13-12-2007 by greeneyedleo]

Ok. I found another article on this.

www.topix.net...

Coyne pulled up to the curb to take a picture of the girls as they posed by the bell-ringer and poured their coins into the red receptacle.

'My 2-year-old had fallen fast asleep,' Coyne said. 'It was sleeting, and I said, 'I'm not going to risk carrying my kid and falling.' '

So she turned off the engine, put her hazard lights on, locked the car and walked 30 feet from the car to get a few snapshots of the girls, Coyne said.

'I was always within ear- and eyeshot of the car,' Coyne said. 'It was a five-minute affair.'
...................

Coyne was arrested outside the Wal-Mart Saturday night on charges of child-endangerment and obstruction of justice after police arriving as backup demanded to know the name of her 2-year-old. Coyne refused to speak until her husband arrived, she said, and soon found herself cuffed and in the back of a squad car.

Officers then went to her car and started the engine with the baby inside - 'exposing my child to carbon monoxide poisoning,' Coyne said. She assumed the other girls were in police custody.

But they weren't.

'The police abandoned my other daughters at the Wal-Mart,' said Janecyk, who eventually found them seated on a bench in the Wal-Mart. 'I asked them why they didn't ask for help, but they said the police scared them.'

Crestwood Police Chief Timothy Sulikowski did not return phone calls requesting comment.

Janecyk said it took him several hours to get his youngest daughter out of police protective custody and to get his wife released. Coyne is being investigated by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe would not comment on the status of the investigation, but said, 'The department has had no prior contact with this family.'

OK. Im a big LEO supporter. But this cop was just STUPID!

[edit on 13-12-2007 by greeneyedleo]

This is over-reaction by the cops. I could see giving her a hard time and admonishing her a bit, but, arresting her and carting her off? Leaving the other, older kids at the Wal-Mart and leaving the car running with the the smallest still in it? She would of just taken the pictures, loaded the other kids back in the car, and went on her merry way.

But no.

The cop made an example out of her and an ass out of himself. They endangered the other kids to a far-further extent than she ever did all for a collar.

I hope she sues the Crestwood PD and gives all of the money to Salvation Army! That'd show 'em!

Cuhail

I'm completely shocked that they didn't tase her and give her a good beating before they put her in the squad car!!

God knows she was asking for it?!?!?!

Bit of a strange one to say the least. Hope the kids are all ok and some common sense gets used... Sooner rather than later.

By the by... She should not have left her BB alone for any length of time, that's just not right.

Monkey

Honestly, I see no reason for the arrest since she was always within eyeshot of her vehicle. There shouldn't be a problem here to take 5 minutes to dump some coins in a bucket snap a picture and then go back to the car. It is not like she left the baby in the car for an hour in 115 degree weather. Now that would be child endangerment.

Originally posted by ChiKeyMonKey
I'm completely shocked that they didn't tase her and give her a good beating before they put her in the squad car!!

God knows she was asking for it?!?!?!

Right? I didn't even think about that and when I read what you wrote I spit soda all over the screen!

Related to the topic discussion. The Antioch, IL, Wal-Mart has an Antioch P.D. sub-station in it and I see a cop sitting in his cruiser every other time I go. 50 feet from the guy with the bell and bucket. How he knew the 2 year-old was still in the car without looking directly in the car is beyond me though.
Cuhail

Originally posted by Thurisaz
In AUST we have had quite a few cases where children have died due to being left in unattended in a car.

It became quite a trend for people who wanted to go to the casino and would leave their children in the car whilst they gambled.

Japan, too - cases of pachinko-addicted housewives locking Junior in the car for 'five minutes' and coming back hours later to find he's suffocated.

It's hard to judge a case like this if you weren't actually present, but locking children in cars is not what I would call responsible parental care.

reply to post by Cuhail

The Antioch, IL, Wal-Mart has an Antioch P.D. sub-station in it and I see a cop sitting in his cruiser every other time I go.

That reminds me.

There is a Walmart in the town we were last stationed at. It was once plastered all over the news, because a child abduction occurred there. I cant remember when it happened by it was MANY years ago - way before I ever lived there.

Anyways at that Walmart now, there are so many flippn cameras all over the outside of the building and thruout the parking lot. I dont exaggerate when I say there are probably at least a dozen mounted on the front of the building...all spaced out evenly. I wish I had taken a picture!!!

Its a strange site to see at "Walmart". I remember the first time we pulled into the parking lot and I said "why the heck are there so many camers everywhere"....thats when I was told about the abduction.

Crazy.



[edit on 14-12-2007 by greeneyedleo]

[edit on 14-12-2007 by greeneyedleo]

The Antioch Wal-Mart has, along the top of the front of the building, about 30 cameras catching everything to halfway across the lot. In the lot itself, I'm pretty sure there are cameras on most, if not all of the lot light poles.

The child was in very little danger, I believe. That is, until the cops got there.

Cuhail

reply to post by Cuhail


I'm not buying into to a story about some-one suffocating in a Japanese car, they allways leak enough Heat sickness is another story and it only takes around +25C to kill someone in a car with no active ventilation, but no one is going to suffocate in a car..

Results: A total of 171 fatalities that met the case criteria were identified. Twenty seven percent (46) were children who gained access to unlocked vehicles and 73% (125) were children who were left by adults. More than a quarter of the adults were aware they were leaving children in the vehicles, while half were unaware or forgot. Forty three percent (54) of deaths to children who were left were associated with childcare: ***32 children were left by family members who intended to take them to childcare but forgot and went to work instead***; 22 children were left by child care providers or drivers.

Heat related deaths to young children in parked cars: an analysis of 171 fatalities in the United States, 1995–2002

I do find some of these findings humorous... How could anyone forget they left a child in the car?

Oh I really don't know how to interpret the section in between the stars!!

In Australia, this issue is treated very seriously.

In Victoria, police will reveal later this morning if they intend to charge a woman who left her baby boy inside a hot car for two hours while she played poker machines. The 19-month-old child died overnight in a Melbourne hospital.

source

A 11-year-old boy was found dead Wednesday in a locked car in temperatures approaching 100 degrees in Orofino, Idaho. The boy’s stepgrandmother was charged, the authorities said. The sweltering temperatures in Idaho were part of a heat wave sweeping parts of the West. In St. George, Utah, temperatures hit 111 by 1:30 p.m., a day after a nearby weather sensor recorded an unofficial reading of 118, which would top the state’s record of 117 set in St. George in 1985. Around Las Vegas, w...

July 6, 2007

source

RESULTS
As of 31 December 2002, the database contained information
on 233 heat related deaths to children in parked motor
vehicles. Although this study focuses on the United States,
deaths were also identified in Australia (6), Japan (4),
England (2), Israel (2), Italy (1), and Malaysia (1).
A total of 171 deaths comprising 159 incidents met the case
criteria (box 1).
In 10 incidents, two children died in each vehicle, and in
one incident, three died. Forty six children (27%) died while
playing and 125 children (73%) died when left unattended.
The children’s ages ranged from 10 days to 4 years; almost
two thirds (64%) were male. The mode for girls was
,6 months old, while for boys it was 2–2.5 years (table 2).
We grouped the circumstances by children who gained
access while playing (27%) and by those left by adults (73%),
which further divided into forgotten, left intentionally, and
unclear intentions (fig 1).
High temperatures ranged from 63 to 115° F. Three
quarters of incidents (124 of 159) were during the summer
months of June, July, and August. There were no patterns to
the number of deaths each year, ranging from seven in 1996
to 30 in 1999. Incidents occurred in 41 of 50 states (fig 2).
Most reports estimated how much time elapsed from when
the child was last seen or placed in the car to when the child
was found. The estimates ranged from less than 15 minutes
to 10 hours; one child’s body was not found for several days.
Eighty two percent (140/171) of children were in the vehicle
for >1 hour, and 29% (50/171) were in the vehicle for
>5 hours. A larger percentage of girls (39%) than boys (24%)
were enclosed for >5 hours.

Heat related deaths to young children in parked cars: an
analysis of 171 fatalities in the United States, 1995–2002

I think the cop did the right thing in giving her a ticket.
It may prevent her from doing it again!

People become complacent with safety issues. At least the Parent only has to deal with a ticket rather than the death of her child.













[edit on 14-12-2007 by Thurisaz]

I leave my two year old locked in my car (especially in the winter time) with the air on WARM (not full blast... but enough to keep the car comfortable..) while I'm getting smokes or pre-paying for my gas... ALL THE TIME... I don't see this as bad parenting; I see it as PROTECTIVE parenting; while one SHOULD NOT leave a child in the car for more than a few minutes... Should I really pull my son out of the car (remember this is Illinois... Its FRIGGIN COLD there right now) into a 20 degree chill, Just to keep the cops off of my back?

I mean seriously.. I pull up to the pump RIGHT NEXT to the cashier... I watch my car (which is locked... I take the fob off to unlock the door when I return) the ENTIRE time I'm waiting to pay (and get my cigs...) and If anyone even approaches my car... I MOVE QUICKLY TO IT...

Seriously... Am I endangering my child by keeping him in a climate controlled SECURED vehicle for 3-5 minutes? IMO hell no... This story is nuts... It'd be one thing if the lady went into Wal-Mart... Went Shopping and came back out even 10 minutes later... But for her to run to the bell ringer at the entrance... and snap a quick photo?

The cop should be charged with child endangerment for the two girls abandoned in the Wal-mart... And Psychological damage to those children as well.

Another power hungry pig...