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The Davis County Attorney is charging a Clearfield mother who accidentally left her child in a hot car.
The child died a week ago, and the county attorney has wrestled with what to do next. But apparently, he's going to charge Kamilyn Hadley with misdemeanor negligent homicide.
All the attorneys in the district attorney's office unanimously felt they had to do something. They could have chosen not to charge her at all.
Initially, this appeared to be purely an accident. At the time, Lt. Garret Atkin, with the Layton Police Deptartment, said, "They obviously said she was very distraught. Certainly it doesn't appear to be anything intentional. She simply forgot she had the child with her."
But after investigating, police say they felt there was some evidence of negligence. The county attorney agrees.
What happened was Hadley went to a friend's home in Layton in mid-June. She left her 5-month-old son, Daniel Hadley, in her car for two hours. It was 95 degrees that day, and the temperature in the car could have reached as high as 130 degrees. The baby initially survived but died at the hospital a week later.
Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings says there needs to be justice for that child, but he doesn't want the mother to have a felony on her record. Rawlings is not recommending jail time; there will be other recommendations like counseling.
The charge will be officially filed tomorrow.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
