Bond Set For S. Fla. Woman Charged In Daycare Van Death
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Charges have been filed more than a month after the death of a 4-year-old boy left in a hot daycare SUV in Tamarac.
Paris Ward, 19, is charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of Jordan Coleman.
With a jacket to shield her face and her mother to lead the way, Ward left the Broward County Jail Thursday night after being fitted with an electronic monitoring device.
"Paris Ward called 911 and reported that a student was unconscious in the parking lot," Judge John Hurley said in court while a tearful Ward listened.
Broward Sheriff's Office Investigators said the boy, 4-year-old Jordan Coleman, had been left in a hot day care SUV at a Tamarac apartment complex for at least two hours before he was found.
"The doctor measured the body temperature of the 4-year-old which came back at 108 degrees," Judge Hurley explained.
Jordan Coleman was supposed to be at the 3 C's Day Academy in Sunrise on August 1st.
Instead, investigators said Ward and another worker loaded the boy and 7 other children in to the Toyota Sequoia.
Records show the daycare's owner, Cecily Roberts, had been cited before for overcapacity. Detectives said that's why the kids were taken to the apartment in Tamarac.
"They'd been warned and cited in the past regarding these matters," Judge Hurley said as Ward broke down in tears.
B.S.O. Investigators said the 19-year-old initially told them Jordan Coleman collapsed inexplicably while getting in to the SUV.
"It's tragic," said Coleman's mom Fantasia Goldson, "to not be able to come home and see your son. To hear him say hey mom."
Goldson has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Her attorney, Stuart Z. Grossman, said Goldson is relieved criminal charges are also being pursued.
"They are very pleased that this matter is now commencing with the arrest," Grossman said. "They think more people are responsible and should be brought to justice."
The 3 C's Day Academy has been closed since Coleman's death.
As of Thursday, no other employees had been charged.
