Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Jun. 23 that Juan Rodriguez of Rockland County has been sentenced to a one-year Conditional Discharge after pleading guilty to second-degree Reckless Endangerment charges in the deaths of his one-year-old twins.

 

According to the investigation, on the morning of July 26, 2019, Rodriguez drove to 130 West Kingsbridge Road while his one-year-old twins, Luna Rodriguez and Phoenix Rodriguez, sat in their car seats in the backseat row of his Honda sedan. Rodriguez arrived at his job at the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 8:22 A.M. and left work at 4:02 P.M., leaving his twins in the car unattended for approximately eight hours.

After driving for two blocks, Rodriguez discovered his two children unresponsive in the backseat. He called his wife, then called 911. First responders declared the twins dead at the scene. According to the investigation, the temperature inside the vehicle where the twins were left reached more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the twins died of hyperthermia. The body temperature of both children was recorded at 108 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bedford Park resident, Pedro Roman, said on the day of the incident Rodriguez attempted a U-turn and nearly struck his vehicle before pulling over to the curb, discovering his unresponsive children in the backseat. Roman said at the time of the incident, “He stopped the car and opened the doors and he said, ‘Oh my God’ three times”.

According to the watchdog group Kidsandcars.org, 53 children died in the United States in 2019 after being left in vehicles. The Hot Car Act of 2019 would have required automobile manufacturers to install a small device that would alert a driver that someone was in the backseat. However, both national and local legislation has stalled after failing to gain bipartisan support, as well as opposition from some auto manufacturers.