If a child can't safely travel two blocks alone, it speaks more about the community than their parents. In countries like Japan, Sweden, and Singapore, it's very common for children at the age of 7 to travel to school alone.
this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2025
26 points (100.0% liked)
North Carolina
387 readers
1 users here now
The ins and outs of the Old North State.
Rules
- Be civil.
- Posts must pertain to North Carolina.
- No spam.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
I mean, yes, but it kind of misses the point, right? I mean, if somebody breaks into your home and murders your child, you shouldn't be arrested for not having bought better locks.
For almost every human being on the planet, the loss of their child is more than enough punishment for whatever fraction of blame falls on their shoulders in situations like this.
I mean, I'm not the most empathetic person on the planet, but I do still have a drop or two of humanity somewhere inside of this withered carcass I call my body and I can clearly tell that it is horrendous to arrest the parents of a child that was accidentally killed because of someone else's mistake because they let the child out of their sight.
It's like prosecuting women for having a miscarriage. This country has gone mad.
The kids walked across a major street, not at an intersection. That was my first thought too (that, and wondering why they'd charge the parents instead of the driver)
America is uniquely unwalkable though, you're not wrong. I think the only case for charging the parents being at all valid is if they already have meaningful evidence that parents were negligent in teaching the kids how to walk home safely, which seems extremely difficult to find evidence for, save for maybe interviews with the other kids, including the one who was walking with the boy who died.
This whole situation is frankly gut-wrenching
The kid wasn't even alone, he was accompanied by his 10-year-old brother.
District Attorney Travis Page. Gaston County. Prosecutorial District 38. (704) 852-3113. Tell him your thoughts on his cruel decision to charge those grieving parents for an accident during perfectly normal childhood outdoor activity.
Jesus christ, what a grim situation.
It sounds like the kids took an unsafe path home and got hit by a driver who was driving appropriately (I say that because my first thought was "why the hell charge the parents instead of the driver"). If I understand correctly they crossed directly across a major street instead of going to the intersection.
I think the only circumstances where it could be appropriate to charge the parents is if there's sufficient evidence that the parents were negligent in teaching the kids how to walk home and navigate traffic safely. Which seems almost impossible to prove, and would require an investigation, which, I suppose it's unclear if that's happened yet.
If they're in jail for the investigation to happen, or just because someone needs to be charged that's horrific. If somehow they already have meaningful evidence the kids weren't taught how to navigate traffic and walk home safely then I suppose the charges might make sense. I think that would be very difficult to produce evidence for, but perhaps interviews with the other children or the boy who was with the one who died in the car accident were enough to bring charges.
Whole thing is profoundly sad. Grieving parents with a dead child, thrown in jai. I'm glad an allowance was at least made to let them go to their child's funeral.