By SHAUNA ANDERSON
It is the type of tragedy we are getting used to reading about but the horror never goes away.
Once again a baby has died after being left in a car.
A mother is once again going through the kind of hell no one could dream about after mistakenly leaving her baby to die – all the while thinking she was safe.
The mother, April Suwyn, left tiny Skyah – one week before her 1st birthday for two hours on the backseat of her car in the city of Hurricane in Washington County, Utah on Friday afternoon.
Mum of three April had dropped her two sons off to their babysitter and driven home desperate to go to the toilet.
11-month-old Skyah Suwyn was safely strapped in the back seat.
April – who works as a manicurist was forced to park down the street because of construction in her road.
She rushed into her house.
It was only at 1pm when she went to pick up her sons that she realised her awful, awful mistake. The temperature in the town of Hurricane had hit 34 degrees at 1pm.
Her sister, Aimee Wright told Deseret News “It was an accident. If people who are being negative could even see how hard she is on herself,”
“If they could see that she keeps saying, ‘If only. If only. If only. I wouldn’t have been out of my routine that day. If only I had gone to the gym.’ She blames it all on herself.”
Baby Skyah is the 20th child to die in a hot car in the US this year alone.
According to the BBC cases in the US and Australia began to rise in the late 1990s, as children’s car seats moved from the front to the back due to the dangers posed by airbags.
Jan Null, a consulting meteorologist who works with the group Safe Kids Worldwide told the BBC “At the same time, car seat manufacturers were saying that rear-facing seats were safer so not only were the children in the back seat but also not even visible.”
He also believes the advent of mobile phones and more hectic lifestyles were also a factor.
Despite repeated warnings from safety charities and experts, babies keep on dying.
“It’s empty,” Aimee Wright said. “There an emptiness there, a loneliness. I don’t know if April will ever forgive her herself.”
A Facebook page has been set up in honour of the family
Top Comments
I am increduled by this news of another baby death yet again. I NEVER, EVER forgot my children ANYWHERE EVER. So, what is the real problem here then? There are no excuses for any of this. None, period. She shouldn't ever forgive herself. She is the one who left it there. Get a grip people, get a grip. If you are that feebleminded I pray to God you have no children ever! I also hope you never own a pet too for that matter.
It can happen to anyone. It didn't happen to you: congratulations, but that doesn't make you any better than some poor person going through hell for a mistake that experts say could happen to anyone who is busy/stressed/sleep-deprived/out of their usual routine. You should read the article Susi-Q has posted below, and find some empathy.
Im a mum of 2 little ones born quite close together so I went through a stage of being quite tired and forgetful but never forgot one of my babies. I put my kids in their car seats and put my hand bag on the back floor. This way there are no distractions from a mobile phone and when I get out of the car I have to get in the back seat of my car for my bag and kids. I feel incredibly sorry for these parents and wonder how you could begin to forgive yourself after causing the death of your baby.....