No charges filed against parents of toddlers killed in trailer fire
No criminal charges will be filed against the parents of two Bakersfield toddlers killed Friday after the trailer they were playing in caught fire.
Sheriff's investigators say there were no signs of child neglect or endangerment, and it appears to be a tragic accident. The coroner ruled the girls' deaths were accidental and they died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns. Investigators say there is no evidence the toddlers had been placed in harm's way.
A picture of 3-year-old Yanira Camacho and 2-year-old America Tejada marks the spot where the two girls died Friday. Their tiny pajama pants hang on the fence next to a burned up trailer.
The girls were playing in the trailer with their two brothers, ages four and five, when one of the boys lit a match and started a fire. The boys made it out of the trailer, but closed the door behind them, trapping the girls.
"There is no indication that the case involves any aspects of neglect or child endangerment. It appears it was just a tragic accident that involved the death of the two children," said Ray Pruitt, Kern County Sheriff's Department.
The Sheriff's Department refused to tell 17 News who was looking after the children at the time of the fire. "To constitute child endangerment, we'd have to be able to determine that adults, who were caring for the children, placed them in a position where reasonable people could determine that the children were placed in a dangerous situation," continued Pruitt.
"They were in an unoccupied trailer. There was nobody around to pay attention to what they were doing. Somebody was responsible," said Karen Cooley, Kern Child Abuse Prevention Counsel.
Karen Cooley, Executive Director of Kern Child Abuse Prevention Counsel, said young children should never be left alone. "A child at three can light a match, but they don't have the understanding of what that match can actually do," she continued.
"I've seen parents be charged with child endangerment or failure to protect if they left their child alone in the car and ran into a 7-11 store. Children two, three, five and six were left unattended with access to matches is what I would consider to be child endangerment," she explained.
Sheriff's investigators say every case is unique. They say you can't compare one case to another. And, in this case, they say it was a tragic accident.
Sheriff's investigators say there were no signs of child neglect or endangerment, and it appears to be a tragic accident. The coroner ruled the girls' deaths were accidental and they died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns. Investigators say there is no evidence the toddlers had been placed in harm's way.
A picture of 3-year-old Yanira Camacho and 2-year-old America Tejada marks the spot where the two girls died Friday. Their tiny pajama pants hang on the fence next to a burned up trailer.
The girls were playing in the trailer with their two brothers, ages four and five, when one of the boys lit a match and started a fire. The boys made it out of the trailer, but closed the door behind them, trapping the girls.
"There is no indication that the case involves any aspects of neglect or child endangerment. It appears it was just a tragic accident that involved the death of the two children," said Ray Pruitt, Kern County Sheriff's Department.
The Sheriff's Department refused to tell 17 News who was looking after the children at the time of the fire. "To constitute child endangerment, we'd have to be able to determine that adults, who were caring for the children, placed them in a position where reasonable people could determine that the children were placed in a dangerous situation," continued Pruitt.
"They were in an unoccupied trailer. There was nobody around to pay attention to what they were doing. Somebody was responsible," said Karen Cooley, Kern Child Abuse Prevention Counsel.
Karen Cooley, Executive Director of Kern Child Abuse Prevention Counsel, said young children should never be left alone. "A child at three can light a match, but they don't have the understanding of what that match can actually do," she continued.
"I've seen parents be charged with child endangerment or failure to protect if they left their child alone in the car and ran into a 7-11 store. Children two, three, five and six were left unattended with access to matches is what I would consider to be child endangerment," she explained.
Sheriff's investigators say every case is unique. They say you can't compare one case to another. And, in this case, they say it was a tragic accident.
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