The death of a 5-year-old West Memphis boy left inside a sweltering day care van for eight hours could have been avoided had workers followed simple protocols, West Memphis Police Chief Donald Oakes said Friday.
Instead, a failure to follow protocols led to the death of Christopher Gardner on Monday, Oakes said.
Authorities said four former workers at the Ascent Children's Health Services facility in West Memphis will face felony manslaughter charges Monday in Crittenden County Circuit Court in Marion.
"There were safety practices in place," Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington of Jonesboro said Friday. "But those practices were violated more than once by more than one individual."
Those charged and their roles with Ascent, which provides care for developmentally disabled children, are:
• Kendra Washington, 40, the designated safety inspector.
• Felicia Ann Phillips, 42, the driver of Ascent's van.
• Pamela Lavette Robinson, 43, the person who travels in the van to ensure the safety of the children on board.
• Wanda Taylor, 43, Ascent's transportation supervisor.
Oakes said Washington and Robinson surrendered at the West Memphis Police Department on Friday after warrants were issued for the arrests of all four defendants.
Attorneys retained by Ascent to represent Taylor and Phillips said the two women will meet with authorities on Monday, the police chief said.
Christopher had attended the facility for disabled children daily since he was 1, according to West Memphis police Capt. Joe Baker. The boy had undergone two heart surgeries but was mobile and able to speak, he said.
The day care's van picked up Christopher at his home at 6:30 a.m. Monday, police reports indicate.
The 15-passenger van traveled to the center on West Tyler Avenue just west of the West Memphis School District's administrative offices. Workers unloaded the children and Phillips parked the vehicle, leaving Christopher strapped in a child car seat in the back, Baker said.
Taylor told police Friday that she signed documentation that the boy was removed from the van and taken inside the facility, "even though she never laid eyes on the child," Baker said.
Washington also admitted she failed to conduct a second check of the vehicle to ensure everyone had gotten off -- one of the protocols required by Ascent, according to Baker.
"We appreciate their honesty," Baker said, referring to the two workers' admission of errors. "But it didn't correct what occurred."
Christopher remained inside the van for about eight hours as the temperature rose. The National Weather Service in Memphis said the temperature reached a high of 88 degrees Monday afternoon and the humidity averaged between 70 percent and 80 percent.
Phillips returned to the van about 3 p.m. and drove it from the parking lot to the center's entrance to board the children for their return home. She turned the van's air conditioning on "full blast," Baker said, to cool the hot interior.
Phillips went back inside, leaving the van running for about 20 minutes. She did not notice Christopher was still in the van, Oakes said.
Investigators found the boy's body in the back row seat across the aisle from where he first sat. He was sitting upright, Baker said. Christopher had been able to free himself from the car seat and had taken off his shirt and a shoe, presumably trying to cool down, Baker said.
Investigators measured the temperature inside the van at 141 degrees.
"The medical examiner said this was not an easy death," Baker said. "That poor boy suffered."
A medical examiner said Christopher's body temperature was 97 degrees, but that was not indicative of how hot the boy had gotten.
Baker said because Phillips turned on the air conditioning inside the van and let it run for 20 minutes, the boy's body temperature may have fallen, making it impossible for the medical examiner to determine when the boy actually died.
Ascent CEO Dan Sullivan, a state representative from Jonesboro, fired the four employees and issued a statement Thursday saying they "did not follow company policies and procedures, and if they had, this tragedy would not have occurred."
Ascent has been closed since Wednesday because of an outbreak of shigella, an infectious bacteria that causes diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever.
Sullivan did not return a telephone message left at his home Friday afternoon.
Baker said Sullivan has cooperated fully with the investigation. Investigators have taken "point of view" photographs inside the van to determine if there was any way workers may not have been able to see Christopher
"It is impossible for me to see how they missed seeing that child," Baker said. "Even if you were halfway paying attention, you'd be able to see him in the van.
Baker said the van had an alarm button inside but it was deactivated. A back door near where Christopher sat was locked and could not be opened from inside the van.
Kids and Cars Inc., a Leawood, Kan., safety organization, reported that 37 children on average die of hyperthermia each year from being trapped inside hot vehicles. Of those deaths, 87 percent are children 3 or younger.
Nineteen states have laws that make it illegal to leave a child alone inside a car. Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Tennessee have such laws; Mississippi is proposing a similar law.
Arkansas has no such law.
Tennessee Title Code 55-10-803 makes it illegal to leave a child 7 or younger inside a vehicle at a shopping center, apartment complex or other public place without supervision of someone at least 13 years old. Violation of the code is considered a Class B misdemeanor with a fine of $200 for the first offense and $500 for second offenses.
In Texas, if an unattended child left in a vehicle is injured, offenders can be charged with felony child endangerment.
"There were four sets of eyes that should have seen [Christopher] was left in the vehicle," Ellington said. "It's a tragedy."
Ellington is familiar with cases involving hot-car death. He was appointed special prosecutor in a case involving Garland County Circuit Judge Wade Naramore.
Naramore was charged after his 17-month-old son died July 24, 2015, after being left in a car for five hours. He was acquitted of the charges.
Ellington said there were several differences in the case against the Ascent workers and the negligent homicide case against Naramore.
"In the case with [Christopher], there were four caregivers with safety protocols in place as opposed to a situation with just a parent," Ellington said.
He said the workers failed to follow Ascent's regulations for transporting children and that it appeared those practices were habitually ignored.
"This is something that could have easily been prevented," Baker said. "If they followed very simple steps were followed, that family wouldn't be planning a funeral. They'd be waiting for Christopher to be coming home today."
State Desk on 06/17/2017