Oooops -- Man catches train, but forgets baby in car

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 3:02pm

"Jonathan Sander, a 33-year-old North Potomac resident, was on the Metro yesterday heading for work in the District when he suddenly realized he had left something crucial behind: his 7 1/2 -month-old daughter.

Sander arrived at the Shady Grove Metro station about 7 a.m. to begin his usual commute, only this time with his baby girl, whom he is normally not responsible for taking care of in the mornings, said Lt. Eric Burnett, a Montgomery County police spokesman.

Sander parked in a garage and got on a Red Line train. His daughter, whose name police did not release, remained in the back seat of his Volkswagen Passat in a car seat.

At some point during his commute, Sander realized what he had done, got off the southbound train and headed back to Shady Grove, police said.

"People go to work. They have a lot on their minds. It just happens," Burnett said, describing Sander as "panicked, to say the least."

By then, commuters on the second level of the Shady Grove station's east garage had noticed the baby. They called for help, and firefighters soon arrived, removing the baby from the car before 8 a.m.

Firefighters and Metro Transit Police were still there when Sander arrived, Burnett said. He was given a written criminal citation for leaving a child under age 8 unattended. He could face a $500 fine, up to 30 days in jail or both.

"There is no way this was intentional. No way, at least not in my mind," Burnett said. He added: "You have people who leave their kids and go off for hours at a time and go shopping. That's intentional."

The baby was taken to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, where she was determined to be in good condition, he said."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/23/AR2006032301660.html

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 3:09pm

Oy.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 3:09pm

It's hard to multitask that early in the morning.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 3:15pm

Hee. That's the Metro stop I use.

Just wondering, was the baby crying when it was discovered? Otherwise, it's kind of odd that people would notice what was in the backseat of a car in a parking garage. I don't even bother noticing which level I'm parked on, let alone what's going on in the cars around me.

Posted: 3/28/06 at 4:23pm

I can kind of understand how habit could interfer with it, but a child??

I could see how he forgot something else, but his own child?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 4:25pm

Oh please. Like you've ever held more than one concept in your brain at any given time.

Better he left the kid in the car than drove off with her on the roof.

[Michelleruth2]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 4:26pm

When I lived in Iowa a woman (executive) left her infant in her SUV all day....summertime....you get the picture. She normally did not take the child to daycare. She was thinking of meetings yada, yada, yada. She discovered the child after work.

Imagine trying to live with yourself after that.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 4:27pm

Reminds me of the Friends episode where Chandler and Joey left Ben on the bus.

Posted: 3/28/06 at 4:30pm

Why do you have to be so God damn mean and rude?
Updated On: 3/28/06 at 04:30 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/28/06 at 4:33pm

"Why do you have to be so God damn meand and rude?"

I was born meand.

As for rude, three words: I LOST ZELDA!