‘We think of the what-ifs’: Winnipeg toddler left alone on child care bus for two hours

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This article was published 21/07/2023 (863 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kristin Hernandez-Courchene says her three-year-old son is traumatized, after being left alone for two hours in a minibus that was supposed to drop him off at an early education child care program.

“We think of the what-ifs, and cherish our time with him more than ever, because it could have ended a lot worse,” Hernandez-Courchene said Friday.

On June 13, her son, Elie Keeper, attended morning daycare in Winnipeg’s West End before he was picked up and driven to the afternoon Little Red Spirit program at Broadway Neighbourhood Community Centre.

It was the last day of the program. However, Hernandez-Courchene said she received a phone call from the program executive director, saying Elie had fallen asleep on the bus and went unnoticed.

Bystanders heard him screaming and crying and called 911, she said.

Hernandez-Courchene alleged the driver did not give a verbal headcount of the number of children in the bus, and a program teacher took a personal phone call while transitioning the children into the building.

A week later, the executive director told the family in a meeting the child care program had revamped its policies to ensure such an incident does not happen again, she said.

“This is all very regrettable,” Little Red Spirit executive director Cathy Howes said in a statement. “This is not something we’re prepared to talk about publicly.

“We honour, and are grateful for, every child the community entrusts to our care and are vigilant about their safety and well-being.”

Since the incident, Elie experiences emotional breakdowns when he sees a white van or minibus, and has regressed in his development, Hernandez-Courchene said.

“We’re unable to leave the room without him crying and screaming for us,” she added. “His sleep schedule has been affected and he wakes a few times during the night with panic-like attacks.”

An employee from the program dropped off an apology letter Friday at the family’s home address, which explained the incident was a “human error,” said Hernandez-Courchene, who has contacted a lawyer.

“We’re upset, and it’s definitely not what we wanted to be in the letter.”

Each early learning and child care program may have a different set of ways to go about head-counting, transportation, transitions and supervision, said Manitoba Child Care Association board of directors president Lynda Raible.

“The responsibility is always at the centre’s discretion, in terms of how they’re going to be implementing those policies and procedures,” said Raible.

“Our priority is always having quality, licensed child care that is staffed by early childhood educators that are able to follow through with our rules and regulations.”

On a hot day, the temperature inside a previously air-conditioned vehicle can jump to 50 C within 20 minutes, according to Transport Canada.

A child’s body can overheat about three to five times more quickly than an adult, because it is less efficient at regulating temperature.

“Children could die. That’s the worst-case scenario and the problem is that it happens so quickly,” said Dr. Lynne Warda at Winnipeg Children’s Hospital. “Some of them can be saved, depending on how long they’ve been in the car and how hot they are.”

The Children’s Hospital has responded to cases where a child was left alone in a vehicle in both extremely hot and cold weather, but these instances are uncommon, said Warda.

Signs of heat exhaustion include intense thirst, weakness, discomfort, anxiety, dizziness, fainting and headache.

Symptoms of a heatstroke include a core body temperature higher than 40 C, rapid, shallow breathing, complete or partial loss of consciousness, reduced mental ability, delirium, seizures or even death.

According to Environment Canada data, Winnipeg recorded a high of 29 C on June 13.

tessa.adamski@freepress.mb.ca