Just 30 Feet Away for 3 Minutes:
Suburban Mom Arrested for Leaving Toddler in Car
While my attention was diverted by Eliot Spitzer and his shenanigans, I missed the real story last week. Maybe you did too, so here it it. It's pretty horrifying.
A suburban mom left her sleeping toddler in the car for a few minutes so she could walk thirty feet with her other daughter and a friend to drop $8.29 in coins into a Salvation Army kettle last December.
That's it.
No big deal, right?
So what's so horrifying?
Mind you, the mother - Ellen "Treffly" Coyne - had the car in her sights the whole time. That was the least of it. According to the Chicago Tribune:
Coyne said she parked at the curb, shut off the engine, locked the doors and activated the hazard lights and car alarm before leaving the station wagon to take a photo of the girls as they put their coins into the bucket.As the service officer screamed at Coyne, she called her husband who advised her not to say anything until he got there. By the time he arrived she was sitting in a patrol car...handcuffed.Coyne said she was never more than 30 feet from the vehicle and was gone for only a few minutes. A Crestwood community service officer saw the girl in the car and called for police.
Oh, I'd go on and on about this one, since Coyne's trial was slated to begin last Thursday. But someone woke up and smelled the insanity - and dropped the charges.
Eliot Spitzer should have had it so good. But then again, he did something stupid.
Photo © Tim Boyle/Getty Images
Comments
I’m so glad to hear that the charges in this case were dropped. I think the insanity of this situation would set precedents which would unnecessarily complicate the aleady difficult job of raising children. I don’t think she was negligent or irresponsible either as the car was well within sight. My goodness I wonder what her older daughter was thinking as all of this was going down. She must have been really frightened! And to think, the mother was trying to teach a valuable lesson in charity for her daughter. Yikes.
This was a dangerous situation and the police were correct in arresting her. They should have not dropped the charges. Was it because she was a respectable women and mother unlike other women with kids.
Probably. This mom should have her kids taken away from her.
Hysteria from the police.
If they can not properly judge a “situation” they should not be there. As long as mom had car in sight, all is well. While in her own home she doesn’t stand next to the child as it sleeps. She’s busy in other rooms of the house. Why not arrest her, and the father. So pitiful.
Let sleeping children sleep in peace and good moms teaching charity to their children in peace. Actually this mom should be used as a role model. You go, Mom!
I think Delvia Logan needs to rethink about her comments. The lady took all the precautionary steps to ensure the sleeping toddler was safe while teaching the older one about charity.
What more would anyone expect?
The mother in this article used poor parenting skills and she got off without a charge because she is mom. Anyone can be a parent but are they a good one?