Patrick: 'Profound Lack Of Responsibility' In Day Care Van Death

BOSTON (CBS) – Gov. Deval Patrick wants a complete review of how day care operators handle transportation after a 17-month-old boy was found dead in a van outside a day care center in Dorchester.

Police said it appears Gabriel Josh-Cazir Pierre was left in the van undetected for several hours Monday, before the van driver found him.

There have been no charges in the investigation at this point.

WBZ-TV's Bill Shields reports

Patrick offered condolences to the boy's family.

He told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Wednesday that tighter policies may not have made a difference in this case.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic reports

"I'm not sure that policy is going to necessarily deal with what seems like a pretty profound lack of responsibility by the driver. But, that's based on the limited information that I have at this point," Patrick said.

"We will certainly do what we can to try to understand what happened and if there is something that needs to be done in terms of policy changes to fix it."

State investigators are trying to figure out how the driver, Luis Matos, failed to notice the boy.  Friends of Matos said he's in the hospital as a result of stress.

Matos was supposed to take the child to another day care center in Dorchester.

The state Department of Early Education and Care said day care facilities aren't required to notify parents if children don't arrive as scheduled.

A spokesperson for the department told WBZ-TV, "We will look at all our policies and procedures to try to prevent this from happening again."

In a statement, Chairman J. D. Chesloff of the Board of Early Education and Care announced that a comprehensive review will be conducted:

"It is our responsibility to do everything within our power to prevent this from ever happening again. Therefore, I am convening a special committee to conduct a thorough review of the statutes, regulations, and policies involved in this matter and to research best practices."

WBZ-TV's Alana Gomez contributed to this report.