In heartwrenching news, police have reported that another person has been found dead inside a hot car this summer. Only this wasn't a young child. Arlington, Texas police say it's a man in his late 20s or early 30s, a man with special needs who had the "mental capacity of a young child."
Different from most of the stories we hear about these sort of tragedies? Of course. But his death is no less tragic.
And the person responsible for such a tragedy should be made to pay.
Cops say the man -- whose identity has been withheld pending family notification -- wasn't left in the van by a forgetful family member but an employee of a company called Fundamental Living, a for-profit organization that provides services for folks with special needs. The man lived at one of the company's group homes, and he reportedly entered the van to be taken with other residents to another location.
Unfortunately, he never made it to that location. Instead he remained in the SUV, and he was discovered, still in the car, back at the group home by another employee.
A tragic accident? That depends on how you look at it. The employee was charged with getting this man from Point A to Point B, a duty he did not fulfill. He (or she -- we don't have an ID, but to make it easier, we'll stick with he for now) knew this man had the mental capacity of a young child and thus needed to be watched intently to ensure he made it safely to his destination. He didn't do that.
He didn't do his job.
And we're not talking about forgetting to make copies for the boss or not bothering to put TWO staples in the TPS reports. We're talking about a job where you're responsible for human lives, where you knew that families were trusting you to care for their loved ones.
You know what is on the line when you take a job like that. Failure is not an option.
It may have been an accident, technically, but some accidents are so serious that they come with consequences. This is one of them.
What do you think the company should do with this employee? Should charges be filed?
Image via kenner116/Flickr