Parent arrested after car hits child

Heather Rawlyk

Monday, Aug. 9, 2004 | 11:10 a.m.

A mother and her live-in boyfriend were arrested on felony child abuse and neglect charges Sunday night after the woman's 4-year-old daughter was struck by a car while riding her bike apparently unsupervised in the street.

Juanita Rodriguez, 36, and her boyfriend, 44-year-old Venacio Solorio, remained jailed this morning at the Clark County Detention Center on one count each of child abuse with substantial bodily harm, accused of leaving the girl and her two brothers home alone.

Solorio also was charged with possession of methamphetamine, according to police records. His bail was set at $13,000 and Rodriguez's bail was set at $10,000. Both were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.

The collision occurred about 5:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Constantine Avenue, near Eastern and Washington avenues.

Police said the girl rode her bike into the street from behind a parked car and into the path of a 1995 Saturn, Metro Detective Bill Redfairn said.

The driver, 61-year-old neighbor Rita Reith, slammed on her brakes but could not stop in time and struck the child, Redfairn said.

The girl was taken to University Medical Center in "extremely critical condition," authorities said Sunday night, but this morning police said she had improved and her injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Redfairn said Reith "did everything she could to stop the car from hitting her."

"The driver (Reith) lives a few houses down and knows the girl very well," he said. "The driver is just devastated about this, but she did nothing wrong."

Police allege the girl and her two brothers, ages 8 and 10, were left home alone at the time of the collision.

About two hours after the collision, Rodriguez pulled her car onto her street to find yellow police tape wrapped along the road in front of her house and her daughter's tiny pink bicycle underneath the right front wheel of the Saturn. Solorio arrived at the home about the same time.

Rodriguez at first told police she was at a doctor's appointment and then changed her story a couple of times, Redfairn said.

"Wherever she was, she wasn't where she was supposed to be -- at home," Redfairn said.

Rodriguez apparently had left her children with Solorio, who told police he had gone to the store to buy alcohol, Redfairn said.

"We're not positive right now how long the children were left unsupervised, but we were here for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and there was no mother and no boyfriend saying, 'Hey, that's my kid,' " he said.

"The mother and boyfriend just showed up, so we can at least be sure they weren't there for as long as we've been here, which is too long."

Police interviewed several neighbors and were informed about the girl's home life, "which turns out to be a cause for concern," Redfairn said. He did not elaborate.

The girl's two brothers were taken to Child Haven to spend the night. Child Haven is a part of the Clark County Department of Family Services and provides temporary care and treatment for abused, neglected and abandoned children.

Neighbors at the scene said they were upset about the collision, but not surprised.

Robert Eichler, whose parents live next door to the girl, said he often sees the girl and her brothers "running around" unsupervised.

"I visit my parents every Sunday, and every Sunday I notice those kids riding their bikes in the middle of the street and running around by themselves in front of cars," Eichler said. "You gotta be real careful driving around here because the kids dart out from nowhere."

Eichler added that he had previously seen police at the girl's home.

"I feel bad for the kids, I really do," he said.

Randy Neyman, who lives down the street, said he frequently worries about the safety of the children in the neighborhood.

"It seems like some parents here, like that girl's mom, just think the kids are old enough to take care of themselves or will be OK if they're left alone for a few hours," Neyman said. "But at 4 years old, you don't know what's dangerous or not. You need adults there to watch you and say 'Don't play in the street."'

Redfairn said parents need to remember to watch their children "even if they're in their own front yard."

"We put so much focus on things like not leaving your kids around the pool and things like that and parents fail to remember that they need to watch their kids doing other things, like riding bikes or playing near the street," he said.

"It's like the bouncing ball in the street scenario," he continued. "We don't think it's really something that will happen, but then it does, and it could have been prevented."