'I feel guilty': Daycare owner blames herself for HOT CAR DEATH of toddler, calls parents 'amazing'
SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY: The owner of a New Jersey daycare center has blamed herself after a two-year-old girl died after being left in a hot car for hours. Christine Skaria, who runs Central Jersey Enrichment Center, insisted that she should have called Adriana LeChard’s parents on Tuesday morning, August 30, when she did not come to preschool.
The woman also claimed that the parents of the little one are “excellent parents…good people”. Skaria told Dailymail.com, “I feel guilty. I wish I would have called that morning. I am broken. The teachers are broken. I treat every child like they are my own and Adriana was mine. I don’t know why God took her. This child was so loved.”
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As per reports, Adriana was found unresponsive in her father's car after reportedly being left there for eight hours. She was rushed to the Robert Wood Johnson hospital in New Brunswick, where she was eventually pronounced dead. The afternoon temperature of the fateful was reported to be 92f.
According to Skaria, the toddler used to attend the class five days a week and she was dropped at the center sometimes by her father and sometimes by her mother between 8 am and 9 am. Around four in the evening, she was taken home by her parents. A day before her tragic death, Adriana attended the class and had fun while making bracelets, reading and playing.
However, on Tuesday, she was not present for the class. The daycare owner said she did not think much of it. But after her death, she asserted that while saying goodbye and giving a hug to her on Monday evening, she did not know “I would never see her again”.
Skaria also talked about Adriana’s parents as she said, “These are excellent parents…good people. She was my baby. It was an accident … nothing more than an accident. Just tragic. I wish I could take their pain away. She was so sweet, loving. I would hug her up and sit with her,” before adding, “Her parents were amazing. You would wish every child to have parents like these. They are attentive, loving.I can’t imagine the pain they are going through. You just pray for them. You have to ask God to heal them.”
Earlier, it was reported that neighbor Megan Kingston saw Adriana’s father running to take out the toddler from his Honda SUV on Tuesday afternoon. Initially it was said that it was the child’s mother Beatriz Viera LeChard who forgot her in the vehicle but Kingston dismissed it. She said that the 38-year-old was actually at work and rushed back to home while being overwrought after hearing about the heart-wrenching incident.
Kingston, who serves Middlebush Volunteer Fire Department as first lieutenant, stated that she was at home that day when she saw Adriana’s dad in distress. She told Dailymail.com, “The father was running inside with the child and I was right behind him. The child was in the kitchen with the father. She was unresponsive. We began CPR. I called over the radio to get rescue units here to try and revive the child.”
“I performed CPR for probably 15-20 minutes. I asked the father to assist me with CPR. I tried to help keep the father calm and had him deliver breaths while I was doing the CPR to rapidly cool her down. We put ice packs behind her neck. The child was very warm,” Kingston explained.
The neighbor claimed that soon two doctors, three ambulances, 20 police officers, and four paramedics came to the scene for help. Also, at 2:45 in the afternoon, the child’s mother came home looking “frantic and emotionally distraught,” Kingston noted before adding, “It's heartbreaking. I feel for the family.”
Meanwhile, a probe has been launched into Adriana’s death by Somerset County Prosecutor's Office. Other neighbors have also expressed their shock and grief after the child’s unfortunate death. One of them said, “They are nice people. It’s such a tragedy.” “How can that happen? How do you forget? I guess we’re all forgetful, I’ve forgotten things in the car. But how do you forget the toddler, you know? I don’t know,” neighbor Alex Krstavski commented.
Neighbor Treana Huntley added as reported by The Franklin Reporter, “I heard the dad start screaming uncontrollably, and I heard the mom really sobbing. They were just screaming in pain and anguish. She collapsed to the ground and he went over to console her. It was gut-wrenching, almost made me want to break into tears. As a mother, just hearing that pain from another mother, it was very hurtful to hear. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”