Maryland caretaker facing charges after leaving nonverbal man locked in car while she allegedly went to lunch
A Maryland caretaker is facing charges after she allegedly left a nonverbal man with autism locked inside a van while she went to lunch in Howard County.
Kymora Lee Sanders, 26, of Beltsville, was charged with one count of vulnerable adult abuse and one count of reckless endangerment in connection with the July 23 incident. She posted a $10,000 bond and has been released.
CBS News Baltimore reported the story last month after hearing from the man's father, Bill Shafley.
"You don't want to leave your child's safety to chance," Shafley told CBS Baltimore's Dennis Valera. "The worst feeling in the world is that people you trusted to take care of your loved one were totally shirking that duty."
New details from the charging documents
According to Sanders' charging documents, she left the man locked inside a Toyota Sienna in a parking garage on Symphony Woods Road in Columbia's Merriweather District.
The man was discovered around 12:30 p.m. by a firefighter who happened to be in the area and alerted police, the documents say. The firefighter reported the man appeared to be OK, and the windows had been left slightly open.
First responders tried communicating with the man and getting him to open the door, but it appeared to be secured with a child lock, according to the documents.
Authorities were able to determine the vehicle belonged to Richcroft, an organization that provides care for people with disabilities. Richcroft was contacted, and a representative was dispatched to the scene to assist.
About an hour later, Sanders returned to the garage and told investigators she "had just left him," the documents say. She claimed they were on their way to the library and she had to stop to use the restroom.
Investigators described her as extremely uncooperative as they questioned her about Richcroft's protocols and said she even attempted to leave the scene.
Upon further investigation, security video showed Sanders leave the vehicle, lock the doors and walk away at 12:24 p.m. She later returned at 1:21 p.m. -- roughly an hour later, according to the documents.
Police said additional video showed her eating lunch at an Eggspection restaurant on Merriweather Drive.
Richcroft launches review of "unimaginable event"
The man was not physically harmed in the incident and was released to the care of a Richcroft representative who responded to the scene. The organization said it fired Sanders, reported the incident to the state and launched an internal review.
"This is an unimaginable event that is completely inconsistent with the standards of care, dignity, and accountability that have guided Richcroft for more than four decades," Richcroft told CBS Baltimore in a statement last month.
The man's father said this isn't the first time running into problems with his care.
"There's a lot of incredibly compassionate caregivers out there, but the lack of oversight, the lack of the use of technology that's out there, and the lack of consequences when something like this happens both to the company and the individual -- it gets news and nothing ever happens," said Shafley when we spoke with him last month.
He said he hopes that by speaking out, there can be statewide conversations about putting safeguards in place to prevent these incidents from ever happening again.
