Monday, June 16, 2003 | 11:11 a.m.
Some state lawmakers say that the decision by prosecutors not to press charges against a father whose infant son died after being left alone in a car for more than eight hours sends a dangerous message.
Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said Centennial High School government teacher David Fish should face criminal charges for leaving his 7-month-old son, Hayden, in the car while he went to work.
"Whether the incident was accidental or not, if a child dies the parent should face charges," she said. "It seems to me that responsible parents are not going to leave their children in the car."
Titus co-sponsored a bill that would have made it a misdemeanor for a parent or other adult in charge of a child 7 or younger to leave the child in a car alone if the car is running or if the child's safety is in danger.
Under the proposed law, parents such as Fish would have had to pay a $300 fine. The bill died in the Assembly.
Titus said the incident underscores the need for the bill, particularly in a state in which summer temperatures top 110 degrees.
"It's with a great sense of regret that something like this might have been prevented," she said. "That is why this law would have been a good thing."
Jeanne Cosgrove, director of the Clark County Safe Kids Coalition, agreed, saying the decision not to prosecute sends a mixed message to harried parents.
"It sends a message that if you're tired, it's OK to not be responsible for your child," she said. "A fine is still a slap on the hand, but maybe a slap on the hand is what parents need to think twice."
District Attorney David Roger on Friday defended prosecutors' decision.
He said prosecutors have in the past levied charges in similar situations, but that all cases must be evaluated on an individual basis.
"We do charge people in cases like these," he said. "But the facts of the case have to fall within the framework of the law."
Roger last week announced that Fish's case would not be prosecuted because Fish did not violate any criminal statute.
Prosecutors are still investigating the case of Maria Door. After she left her 16-month-old son in her running car, the car was stolen. The boy was found hours later uninjured in the car, which was abandoned but left running with the air conditioning on.
Roger said the state Legislature has not determined that leaving a child in an unattended vehicle, in and of itself, is child neglect.
Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, said the public has to trust that prosecutors will make the right decision in child neglect cases.
"I really think the prosecutors have to use their discretion in cases like these," he said. "That parent, whether he is incarcerated or not, will pay for this for the rest of his life."
State statute requires that knowledge or intent on the part of the accused must be present before guilt can be found, he said.
Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, who introduced the bill in the state Senate, said education, not punishment, should be the main focus after such a tragedy.
She said she doesn't think Fish deserves go to jail, but that a hefty fine would be appropriate.
"This person has already been punished," she said. "How much more punishment can we inflict? What can be more punishment than the death of a child?"
Fish, a father of four, told police that he had changed his daily routine that morning and, in his haste, forgot to drop Hayden off at day care.
Fish, a government teacher, left the school at 1 p.m. and ran several errands. He didn't realize the infant was in the car until about 3:45, when he arrived at Klassy Kids day-care center to pick up his other son.
Nevada statute defines the criminal charge of child neglect as "willful" neglect or abuse. Therefore, the act must be done intentionally, not accidentally, Roger said.
Charges such as involuntary manslaughter also require that the act be "intentional and unlawful," Roger said. For a parent to be charged under that law, the child's death would have to be unlawful under the child neglect and abuse act first, he said.
But until more specific laws are created, Wiener said, cases like Fish's will continue to fall into gray areas.
"It's such a high standard," she said. "It has to be so egregious when it gets to that point. We need to find a vehicle where we can get involved before kids are placed in a life-or-death situation."
Cosgrove said the current law leaves too much room for inconsistencies.
"When a parent leaves a child at home alone and the house burns down, the parent is crucified," she said. "Why is it OK to leave your child in the car?"
Wiener said more education is needed to teach local parents about the dangers of leaving their children in cars.
"We can help educate parents who may not understand how significant this thing is," she said. "We want to educate parents. We want parents who are not aware to become aware."
She said she plans to meet with city and county officials to create education programs for local parents on the dangers of leaving their children in cars.
"Maybe there's a chance I can go back to the Legislature next time and make my case for it again," she said. "I'm not quitting."
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