If you haven’t heard the story about the Sherwood Park mom whose truck was stolen with her baby in it, well, it’s quite a story.
Yes, she left the keys in the truck, which was running, doors unlocked, baby inside.
She left for a couple minutes, was in sight of the truck the whole time, apparently, and then it was gone.
I know what it’s like to have a child missing. It happened with my son once. Fortunately we found him.
I have to give this mom credit for going on CBC and explaining what happened. I do have to criticize the reporter for not being a little tougher and asking her about why she left the baby inside of an unlocked, running truck.
I also would have asked that mom about what she thinks of the criticism about what she did and whether she should be charged or not.
Some might say she’s been through enough. Perhaps. I think she should be charged. I don’t think she should go to jail, but definitely charged.
There is a true story from Williams Lake, B.C., where someone left their vehicle running, it was stolen and the person who stole the vehicle ran over and killed someone a few blocks away. Was the vehicle owner charged? Not that I’m aware. He should have been. It’s negligence. With one of the highest rates of auto theft there, that person could have reasonably foreseen that his vehicle could be stolen in that circumstance.
Edmonton has a lot of vehicles stolen every year. That mother should have reasonably foreseen that her running, unlocked vehicle could have been stolen.
I think insurance companies shouldn’t cover people who leave their vehicles in that condition. How hard is it to turn it off, take the keys and lock it up? No, people here seem to think it’s okay. It’s not the farm everyone. It’s Edmonton.
Frankly, I think that they should charge this mom and make an example of her. No jail, but make the point.
Some may think it’s harsh and that she’s suffered enough. You could legitimately make that case. I think people should be aware that they can be charged and that it’s not okay to do these things. She did sound like a really nice lady, yes, but do we only charge people who don’t sound nice?
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6 comments
Adam Snider says:
Apr 9, 2009
I’m pretty sure that they don’t. If you leave your vehicle running, say to warm it up in the winter, and someone steals it, the insurance company isn’t going to cover that (even if the car was locked, the fact that you left it running is considered to void the insurance policy because you didn’t do due diligence to prevent the theft).
As for the specifics of this case, I think the woman made a huge mistake to leave the car running and unlocked. Was she wrong to leave the baby in the truck for such a short trip? That’s debatable. Had she turned off the truck and locked it, perhaps it would have been alright. I’m not a parent so it’s hard for me to judge the situation.
However, leaving it unlocked and running was absolutely stupid, regardless of whether or not she left the baby in the truck. Of course, she was in front a school where lots of people were picking up children, so she probably thought that there is no way that the truck would stolen with so many witnesses around. Plus, she’s probably done it a hundred times in the past without incident.
Does that excuse her negligence? Of course not, but it does serve to explain it a bit.
Should she be charged? I personally don’t think so. I can see your point about setting an example, but charging her and then not following through with any sort of punishment won’t send a message at all, as far as I’m concerned. And, like you, I definitely don’t think she should serve time for this, so pressing charges seems like a pointless waste of time and money.
Just my (very wordy) $0.02.
Alain Saffel says:
Apr 9, 2009
I don’t know whether your insurance company covers you when you leave a vehicle unlocked and running. Would be good to know. If I were still a reporter, I’d do that story as a follow-up.
While I don’t think she should go to jail over this, I think she should be charged and there should be some type of penalty that suits the crime. Perhaps community service is in order? Maybe she should be going to prenatal classes and telling her story about why moms shouldn’t be doing what she did.
At least some good could come of this situation. I understand she made a mistake, and we all have, but it doesn’t excuse it.
ashley says:
Apr 29, 2009
Not only that , what was the child doing in the front seat??
Alain says:
Apr 30, 2009
I hadn’t seen anything in the stories that the baby was in the front seat. Not saying that wasn’t the case though.
In the lady’s defense, it could be that it was a single cab truck. Not sure. If it’s only an extra cab, can you put a car seat in the back?
I checked and the baby was in the front seat!
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Technology/Alberta+kidnapper+over+head+says+baby/1478267/story.html
It seems that the back was full of other car seats. You can turn off the airbag, or at least I think you’re supposed to be able to do that.
Good catch.
Jason says:
Apr 27, 2009
I think it is pretty easy for a person to judge without knowing all the facts. Not that I do, but I am surprised at the lynch mob this mom gets when there is so little attention paid to the young offender that actually committed a crime. How many assumptions have been made by the media when it comes to their articles about this situation? We live in a society that is constantly looking to blame situations on someone, when sometimes it is a genuine mistake (we are human after all). I can think of many examples in my 5 years of parenting that I have made mistakes (like accidentally leaving the front door unlocked, and then finding that my child has run half way around the block). If they were taken, or hit by a car, I shudder to think of how I would be pictured in the media…I should be charged for such gross negligence. As far as knowing what is “reasonably foreseen”…it always looks so much clearer when you look back on a situation. As far as wishing a criminal record on someone who has made a mistake that could happen to almost anyone…let he who is without sin cast the first stone…
Alain Saffel says:
Apr 28, 2009
Not having written the stories on this, I can’t say the media has made any assumptions in this story. I trust they have based their stories on the facts, unless you’ve seen or heard a retraction that would indicate they have the story wrong.
Nobody’s saying that parents don’t make mistakes. Kids do have a mind of their own but so do parents. We rely on parents not to make absurdly obvious mistakes like leaving your child in an unlocked, running vehicle.
Children also have minds of their own and do things that we do not anticipate and cannot control. If it results in harm to the child, parents typically aren’t found negligent should anything go terribly wrong. This isn’t that kind of case.
Fortunately our justice system does not operate on the principle of ‘he without sin not casting the first stone.’ That in itself is absurd.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.