Man who allegedly left son in hot truck charged with manslaughter

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) _ A man whose infant son died after being left in a hot pickup truck for more than seven hours has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. <br/><br/>A charge filed Friday by

Saturday, June 26th 2004, 10:30 am

By: News On 6

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) _ A man whose infant son died after being left in a hot pickup truck for more than seven hours has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

A charge filed Friday by Rogers County prosecutors accuses Daniel Glen Spitzer, 46, of causing the death of 6-month-old Benjamin Spitzer with ``culpable negligence'' by leaving him in a closed pickup in Catoosa on June 17.

Culpable negligence is the omission of an action that a reasonable or careful person would take.

Efforts to reach Spitzer or his attorney were unsuccessful.

The state Medical Examiner's Office concluded that Benjamin Spitzer died of hyperthermia, or heatstroke, and that his death was an accident.

``The bottom line is, accident or not, this is not an excuse for failure to perform a legal duty,'' Assistant District Attorney Patrick Abitbol said.

Catoosa police were called about 5 p.m. that day after the baby was found in the truck at Spitzer's liquor store off Oklahoma Highway 66.

Spitzer, of Tulsa, had intended to drop off the boy at day care that morning, but forgot to take the baby out when he went to work about 9 a.m., police said.

He discovered the child late that afternoon after getting a call from his wife, who asked why the baby had never arrived at day care, police said.

The temperature that day was 90 degrees in the area.