Parenthood, Accidents, and Responsibility

Jesstin Pagan, 5, Daniel Agosto, 6, and Anibal Cruz, 11

CAMDEN, New Jersey (AP)-- Three boys who suffocated in a car trunk last month were trapped alive for at least 13 hours, slowly succumbing while police searched their neighborhood, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The boys, ages 5, 6 and 11, died between 13 and 33 hours after they climbed into the trunk on June 22, said the Camden County prosecutor's office, citing part of an autopsy report. The deaths were ruled accidental.

Experts have said that the boys likely passed out in one or two hours after being trapped in the trunk. It should be of some comfort to the parents to know that they didn't suffer for all of those 13 to 33 hours before they died. Still, the thought that there was a large window of opportunity when a rescue may have been possible is heart-breaking.

The question of when Anibal Cruz, Jesstin Pagan and Daniel Agosto died is crucial, in part because of the possibility of lawsuits against officials.

If the boys were dead by the time police were called to the neighborhood in this impoverished city, it may decrease the families' chances of success in a lawsuit against officials.

So far, no legal complaints have been filed, and the mother of one of the boys said Tuesday the report's finding does not mean she will sue.

"I don't think me and my husband want to go through that. Suing anybody or getting a lawyer isn't going to help us bring him back," Iraida Agosto said.

However, a lawyer for Anibal Cruz's family said responsibility for the deaths is now "squarely on the shoulders of the police."

"I think the numbers speak for themselves," Peter M. Villari told The New York Times. "They were certainly alive when the police arrived and certainly well after the search started."

Villari said last month that he was hired by Anibal's mother, Elba Cruz, in part to see if police or anyone else may have been responsible for the deaths. He said at the time that it was not clear whether she might sue.

Villari believes the findings put responsibility for the boys' deaths on the police.

You could turn that around and suggest that the parents should be charged criminally for being negligent in the supervision of their children.

While the police are professionals and should be held accountable for properly carrying out their duties, what kept the parents from looking in the trunk? They could have saved their boys as easily as the police.

It's a tragic story. My heart breaks for the innocent little guys and their parents, as well as the officers involved in the search. All of the searchers must be haunted by the fact that they didn't check the trunk of that car.

I'm not comfortable criticizing the families in their grief. However, it's hard to look at the case and not assign some responsibility to the boys' guardians.

The police alone can't be faulted for their deaths. They may not have followed standard search procedures and that's a legitimate issue to investigate. Nevertheless, it has to be noted that the boys' parents did not adequately protect their children in the first place.

The boys died as the result of accidentally becoming trapped in a trunk. Sadly, they were not found, by police or their families, in time to save them.

I think Iraida Agosto makes senses when she says that "getting a lawyer isn't going to help us bring him back."

I don't believe the parents were charged with child neglect.

Shouldn't they bear some responsibility?

I'm NOT advocating charging the boys' guardians with a crime. I'm merely pointing out that supervising their own children is their duty.

I don't buy Villari's statement that responsibility for this tragedy falls "squarely on the shoulders of the police."

In the end, parents are responsible for protecting their children from harm.

Tragically, horrible accidents still happen in spite of all the best efforts of parents and law enforcement.

And three little boys died.