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Careless Adults and Their Young Victims


By

Jen Chung

Published May 20, 2008

Modified May 20, 2008


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By

Jen Chung

Published May 20, 2008

Modified May 20, 2008


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2008_05_grill.jpgIn the span of a few days, there have been two separate incidents of adults acting stupidly and leaving children either badly hurt or dead.

Last Friday, an 9-year-old boy was burned on 70% of his body when attending a friend's birthday party. Because it was raining, the birthday boy's mother Rhonda Kavee brought the party inside to her Murray Hill dental practice and started a grill to roast S'mores. But the fire didn't get going, so she threw a flammable liquid on the grill, burning Josh Blank, who started convulsing. He will undergo surgery and the authorities are still weighing charges against Kavee.

And Joanne Alvarez was arraigned after being charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the death of her 6-year-old foster daughter. Alvarez had given Taylor Webster an adult--and ultimately fatal--dose fentanyl pain patch. Prosecutors say the fentanyl patch was prescribed to the 260 pound Alvarez (Webster was 59 pounds). And WNBC says the Administration of Children's Service has/had four investigations on Alvarez.

The Daily News' Michael Daly writes about these two adults in a column titled, "What was each idiot thinking?"

Tagged

burns

children

crime

manslaughter

stupid adult


Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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