Father Blames City, County for Deaths of Children

Submitted by Bob Jacobson on Mon, 08/15/2011 - 19:43

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Father Blames City, County for Children’s Deaths
I came across an article last week on Reuters written by Ray Sanchez.  The story was a tragic one that involved a 25 year old mother who drove her minivan into the Hudson River near Newburgh in Orange County, New York.  The mother had her four children, ages 10, 5, 2 and eleven months, with her.  All drowned except the 10 year old boy who managed to escape through a window and swim to safety.
The 26 year old father of the children has filed claims against the city and county seeking 40 million dollars each in damages for the deaths of his children.  He claims the city should have had barriers in place to prevent the mother from driving into the river.  He claims a county agency, Child Protective Services, failed to properly monitor his family since the agency had had contact with them since February due to the father being accused of endangering the welfare of a minor.
It was reported that the couple and been involved in a heated argument just prior to the tragic event.  

Although there is much that is not known in this story, it appears that this tragedy began many years ago when this unmarried couple began having children when they were teenagers.  Ten years later, still unmarried, their relationship reached a breaking point.  It is very unlikely that either of these claims by the father will succeed.  If he really wants to find out who is responsible for the deaths of his children, he should look in the mirror.

 

Bob Jacobson is a personal injury attorney serving the Treasure Valley in Idaho