Photo: goodmorningamerica.com
Last Friday, 2 more children died after being forgotten inside a hot car. On a very hot day in New York City, Juan Rodriguez drove his SUV to work, got out and went on a full shift, not realizing that he’d left his twins inside, still strapped in their carseats.
On Saturday evening, Rodriguez was charged and released from custody the next day, after making bail. His wife, Marissa, says in a statement cited by ABC’s Good Morning America, that she stands by him, fully convinced that the tragedy was just a horrible mistake.
Early on Friday, Rodriguez drove to the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx, where he works as a social worker. He completed a full shift, got back in the car and drove for a short distance, before realizing the children, Luna and Phoenix, were still inside.
Eyewitnesses say for the same media outlet that, when he realized it, he pulled over, got out and screamed for help. When paramedics and police arrived on the scene, they couldn’t do anything for the children but declare them dead: their body temperature was at 108 degrees, while outside was 85 to 88 degrees.
“I assumed I dropped them off at daycare before I went to work,” Rodriguez told the cops, according to documents obtained by ABC News. “I blanked out. My babies are dead; I killed my babies.”
He was charged with 2 counts of negligent homicide and 2 counts of manslaughter, and is also facing 2 counts of endangering the welfare of a child. If he’s found guilty on the first 2 charges, he could spend anywhere between 1 and 15 years behind bars.
Rodriguez has 3 other children, aged 4 to 16. That same day, he remembered to drop off the 4-year-old at kindergarten, the same police records indicate.
Speaking for the first time since the incident, Rodriguez’s wife says she needs him by her side so they can grieve together their immense loss. She insists that, despite this terrible mistake, he is a good father – and a kind man who will never forget himself for what he’s done.
Early on Friday, Rodriguez drove to the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx, where he works as a social worker. He completed a full shift, got back in the car and drove for a short distance, before realizing the children, Luna and Phoenix, were still inside.
Eyewitnesses say for the same media outlet that, when he realized it, he pulled over, got out and screamed for help. When paramedics and police arrived on the scene, they couldn’t do anything for the children but declare them dead: their body temperature was at 108 degrees, while outside was 85 to 88 degrees.
“I assumed I dropped them off at daycare before I went to work,” Rodriguez told the cops, according to documents obtained by ABC News. “I blanked out. My babies are dead; I killed my babies.”
He was charged with 2 counts of negligent homicide and 2 counts of manslaughter, and is also facing 2 counts of endangering the welfare of a child. If he’s found guilty on the first 2 charges, he could spend anywhere between 1 and 15 years behind bars.
Rodriguez has 3 other children, aged 4 to 16. That same day, he remembered to drop off the 4-year-old at kindergarten, the same police records indicate.
Speaking for the first time since the incident, Rodriguez’s wife says she needs him by her side so they can grieve together their immense loss. She insists that, despite this terrible mistake, he is a good father – and a kind man who will never forget himself for what he’s done.
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