Sandra Mendoza Forgot Her Two Children
September 2, 2008 by Morbid · 36 Comments
Filed under: Child Endangerment, Child Neglect, Hot Car Baby
Filed under: Child Endangerment, Child Neglect, Hot Car Baby
ROSENBERG, Texas - After visiting her mother with her husband and two toddlers, Sandra Mendoza, 20, returned home to their trailer in the Gegelskis Trailer Park at around 5am, went inside and then went to sleep. Neither parent realized they had left her two sons, a 1-year-old and 2-year-old, in their F-150 Ford pickup truck.
When she woke up at 1 p.m., 8 hours later, she realized that the children were still in the vehicle. When police arrived, they found the two children unconscious and unresponsive. They were taken to Oak Bend Medical Center and placed in the intensive care.
Mendoza has been charged with two counts of injury to a child. She was is currently in Fort Bend County Jail in Richmond.
What a nice family day. Go visit Grandma… then neglect kids.
Pathetic… Is that her mugshot? Wow even had time to do her make- up…
Is that a mug shot or a drivers license picture? I hope is not a mug shot, she almost looks like she is smiling. This is just stupid, how can someone be sooo stupid???
Yea Sure they forgot them Yeah whatever
No way can i believe these people when they say they forgot their kids in a vehicle Come on you rode down the road with them in the vehicle how do you NOT get them out of that vehicle when you get out??
WTF were they smoking?
I say take them and place them in a home that will Love them and NEVER forget them
Stop giving these jackasses a second chance in cases like this
People like this annoy the crap out of me! You forget your purse or keys shit like that in the car.. not TWO babies.. dumbass..
I work for TX LE…. its a drivers license photo…. no jail glamour shots, sorry!
If they were getting home at 5am, I can’t imagine the pair were all that sober. I mean, it’s possible, but unlikely in my opinion. If it’s that late and you’ve clearly got nothing to do the next day, why not just stay at mom’s? Young people with babies make me nervous. If they’re irresponsible enough to get pregnant multiple times, I’ve got no reason to believe they’re particularly responsible people in general.
I hope these babies survive this and find a home with people who are ready to care for them. I wonder, though…Why wasn’t the husband charged?
That’s a good question.
Babies and toddlers make so much noise. How can a parent forget about them in their own home? This is different to me from when a parent jumps on the train to work and forgets baby is in the backseat. This is just plain forgetting that you’re a parent at all, and I don’t get it.
Both babies were probably asleep. So they just figured to leave them in the car. They are very stupid people…
I would bet money that they both thought, hell the kiddos are asleep leave them there so if they wakeup crying WE can sleep undisturbed. They did not forget, the just said fuckit.
Pieceofshit so called parents.
BOTH should be charged not just the stupid mom.
A mother, a good mother, doesn’t sleep until she’s checked her babies….blankies, pillows, etc. I STILL check my baby and she’s 14 years old.
fuck
Me too!! Mine’s almost 16 and I still check on her before I go to bed!! And now that I’ve discovered DD, and can no longer turn a blind eye to all the atrocities against children here in practically my own backyard (by that I mean here in the US and not some impoverished 3rd world country), I will probably be checking on her until she’s 36.
But then again, a good mother makes sure her children have food to eat, a clean place to live in, and a safe environment to thrive in. All those should be no-brainers…
Ok I read in another article that they got home at 5am!?!?! Were they out ‘partying’ with good ole’ moms? … The thing that bothers me is when my kids were young (they are two years apart). My ex-husband was active military E-8. This meant very early and very late hours, and also meant we had EXTRA responsibilities… This was during the Sept 11th attack time frame… I worked 50 hours a week - took care of two babies - prepared for my husband’s deployment (he served in Iraq & Afghani as an Airborn Ranger) for an ‘undetermined’ amount of time - I drove him back and forth to the base 45 mins away one way - I had to take the kids back and forth to daycare - I had no family and my friends were facing the same situation - I was 12 1/2 hours from the closest family members - my youngest child was special needs child — she required excessive doctor visits - very common ER visits — specialist — monitors — she needed time sensitive medications - two hour feedings till almost three years of age - GUESS WHAT !?!?!? Oh come on.. you know where this is going! NOT ONE TIME - NOT FOR 2 MINUTES - EVEN ON DAYS OF 2 HRS OF SLEEP AND STRESS MOST WILL NEVER FACE - NOT KNOWING THE OUTCOME OF YOUR SPOUSE - I NEVER FORGOT MY BABIES - MATTER OF FACT - I am the woman who woke up all the time and checked the babies sleeping and windows/doors - normal - I’m mom & dad now BS - I took fertility drugs to have my two beautiful girls - I have 4 little girls and 1 little boy Angels in Heaven who watches over me because my body had a very hard time having children - and with surgery after surgery and fertility drugs I was blessed… BITCHES like these make me HATE - and I HATE little things in life very little in life… PUBLIC HANGING WOULD BE MY PLEASURE - HELL I’D EVEN PULL THE LEVER AND I WOULDN’T WEAR A MASK AND I WOULD SLEEP ‘BETTER’ AT NIGHT!!!!!!! Sorry for my vent but this crap eats my shit!
This has always sounded like simple, logical knowledge to me, but everyday I am starting to wonder how so many have become so STUPID and IGNORANT to the basics. I will never be able to understand how a person could harm a child. I had twins, one of whom cried, a LOT, the other was nearly impossible to get to sleep every night. There were times that I broke down and cried, times I woke my husband for help, times I called family but I never, ever thought about doing them harm. I reminded myself constantly what I went through to have them (5 years of fertility treatments, lots of heartache and disappointment) and, even at the worst moments, knew that they were (and still are) worth it. I felt guilty leaving one in the car for the 2-3 minutes it would take to bring the other in if it was icy or snowy and I didn’t want to take the chance of carrying both baby carriers and slipping. I still feel guilty if they fall asleep in the car and I have to leave one in their car seat while I bring the other in (and they’re 6-1/2 now!). I lock the car and get one in quickly then run out and get the other, I live in a safe neighborhood - but you never know, it’s not worth risking the chance of leaving the car unlocked. I’m not Mother of the Year and probably never will be but my husband and I made the simple choice to be responsible parents before we decided to try to have them. Children are really quite simple to take care of - if you have a brain and a heart…………..
Is this the most recent mug shot, or an earlier one? It chaps my ass that she can’t even manage to look contrite.
Speaking of ‘rents checking on kids, while visiting mine during the holidays, I found out my father was prodding my mother to check on me because I was coughing in my sleep. I’m 23!
How far away does her mother live? If it’s a long drive, and they were THAT tired when they got home, it’s a miracle they weren’t in a collision, honestly. I wouldn’t assume they were under the influence until I knew how far they were driving. Maybe they left at midnight. Maybe someone had to work in the afternoon. Way too little info to make that leap. They may have a perfectly legit reason for coming home so late, like, for example, they just wanted to.
Of course nothing excuses forgetting your babies in the car. I was 16 when I had my first and I never lost him, forgot him, dropped him, neglected him, abused him, etc etc.
I do find the blanket statement about being a young parent meaning you are irresponsible unfair. (Although it would seem completely accurate in this specific case!) That’s a pre-judgement, aka prejudice. I was date raped, got pregnant, and chose to raise my baby, and people assuming I was irresponsible or just a whore when I was trying to be responsible with a situation I didn’t cause caused me a lot of pain as a young mom. I was outcast in a neighborhood I moved in to, and I never could find a church that didn’t treat me exactly like the way that statement made me feel.
You don’t know what the circumstances were when you see a young mom. She may have been raped, she may be married, and she may just look really young for her age, lol. I am now 31 and people think I am 19 or 20, and I *still* get funny looks when I am out with my daughters, who are 5 & almost 7! Most people assume my son (14 now and taller than me) is my brother!
I agree, I think their lazzy asses just left them in the car. For one thing, who keeps babies that young out ALL night?! Horrible. Maybe they were on drugs to and forgot?
Cheeky, Athena did mention being
Obviously you were not irresponsible in getting pregnant once let alone multiple times - it was something beyond your control. I completely understand how any statement such as this would be a sore spot for you due to your personal experiences, but this particular statement does not apply to you.
However, as with most blanket statements (even if it HAD included you) there are always exceptions. I’m fairly certain that Athena would be the first to acknowledge that. There are actually a fair number of women on this site who were very young mothers just like you. To my knowledge, none of them have done anything even close to Front Page worthy. They all seem to be pretty decent mothers (i.e. they actually love and care for their children)
I would venture a guess, though that a high percentage of baby harming cases include young or immature women. They are the ones with whom you should have an issue not Athena.
thank heavens those babies are alright !!!
hey when i had my first baby I moved into a trailer lived in it 3 yrs … in the winters the car was warmer in the summer the car was cooler LOL no lie my candlestick curled over and my toilet bowl frozen - once or twice I had to borrow my neighbors hairdryer and extension cord to get my key in the doorknob LOL… I worked full time and a part time job… I didn’t run the electric heat 10 -11 hrs. it took about 15 mins to regulate to normal.
maybe the grandma babysits and they work in a nightclub or walmart some place that has late hours such as steak n shake. but thats reading between the lines the article says - visiting - When I would pick my children up at my mom’s there were times I stuck around awhile talking muching on casserole leftover LOL which is considered visiting, But I preferred to go home didn’t matter that it was 11 pm, 3 am or 6 am
if … the husband met the wife there and they came home in separate cars could be the reason he wasn’t charged.
any word on how the kids are doing ?
Ummmm WTF? Aside from anything, my mother would NEVER let me leave her house at 5 am to drive home! Thats crazyness! I would never EVER drag my baby out of the bed at that hour. Even if I insisted on going home at 5 am my mother wouldnt let me wake my baby up and put him in the car! UUUGGGHHHHH Im all for the public hanging! I wanna SPIT in that little bitches face! The look on her face pisses me off! I bet her babies are beautiful!!!!
ok… no offense cheekysweetie… but i traveled every two weeks from el paso to tyler texas. that trip is 12 1/2 hours one way… pretty much non-stop. i traveled at night so the little ones could sleep. it was often just me and my (1 & 4 yr old girls). i worked a 10 hr day… picked up the kids and hit the road… i was in my late 20’s. i never had a ‘collision’ smart enough to pull over in a safe area… and ooopppee i have to say it… i never ever ‘forgot’ my kids…. damn… i missed the classes these ADULTS took on being SO FUCK’N TIRED YOU’D FORGET BABIES IN HUGE ASS SEATS IN THE BACK. i’ve read many of your post and you seem like a wonderful person who looks for the absolute best in everyone and the hope that these people are part of a tragedy and not the writers of it… my hats off to you… but when you’ve been around the block with age and you’ve worked in ANY type of field were you deal with people and their care for their children…. sometimes life just doesn’t make you so optimistic on incidents like these… no offense towards you at all!
Good lookin’ out, Boondock. I’m a tolerant person. I’ve got friends who got pregnant as teenagers. Depending on the circumstance (rape, birth control failure), it may not be the result of irresponsibility at all. But, the vast majority of teenage pregnancies ARE the result of irresponsibility, and if you’ve got more than one child before the age of 20, it’s practically guaranteed, odds-wise, that you’re irresponsible.
As for the comment about one or both of them not being sober, yes, it’s an assumption, which is why I qualified the hell out of it. It’s possible that they had a perfectly reasonable excuse for getting home at 5am but, again, it’s not that likely, in my opinion.
UCat linked this article in the forums.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5980386.html
“According to court records, Sandra Mendoza told authorities that she had been at a party early Monday before returning home with her 1- and 2-year-old sons sleeping in their car seats.”
“The 20-year-old mother said she had consumed five alcoholic beverages and then left the party about 4 a.m.”
I lived in Richmond - Rosenberg for about 4 years. Women like Mendoza are a dime a dozen there. They become mothers way too early in life and marry (before or after the babies) very early too. Its just what they do because they really don’t see that they have other options.
You forget a diaper bag in a car, not two babies! My hubby told me about this yesterday and told me that even though he’s a guy and hasnt had much one on one time alone with the kids he would never forget about two babies in the truck. A truck isnt very spacious and they had to be less than 2 ft apart.
They knew the kids were in there, they were just lazy ass losers who didnt want to care for their children. Both parents should be in jail over this. It took two to make them, the both of them drove home with them, and the both of them “forgot” them in the car. How fucking selfish and irresponsible do you have to be before you are arrested for neglect?
“According to court records, Sandra Mendoza told authorities that she had been at a party early Monday before returning home with her 1- and 2-year-old sons sleeping in their car seats.â€
Good lookin’ out, Kathy. As if the assumptions I was making didn’t already get me in trouble…I really didn’t want to have to resort to, “Just look at those earrings! She’s clearly a hood rat, which is why I doubt she was sober.” :p
What are you talking about?? Those earrings are OFF THE HOOK!
What’s funny about that, Boondock, is that I was wearing very similar earrings when I made that post yesterday…And I fully base my assumptions on my own experience. You won’t catch me coming home at 5am unless I’ve been partying.
Update: The younger child is doing better and may be released from the hospital soon. The older boy may have organ and brain damage.
http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/houston/stories/khou090408_tnt_boys_left_truck.429f8130.html
i clicked on that link “hot truck for 8 hours”
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080902_mp_hot_car_death.389b80b4.html
to clarify it sounds like the husband wasn’t out with her. After she left the party, she stopped by her mothers to pick up the boys… so grandma was only babysitting.
——
Mendoza said she left her sleeping children in the truck because she only planned to go inside for a shot time. Instead she talked to her husband and fell asleep.
Eight hours later, she woke up and up and realized her children were still strapped in their car seats in the truck.
Police said she admitted that she’d had “a little” alcohol.
“She did tell us that she drank that evening, but at 5 o’clock in the morning, we don’t know how strong it may have been or how much was still in her system,” said Lynn Munford with the Rosenberg Police Department.
An 11 News crew saw two strollers surrounded by beer and a few half-empty bottles of liquor in the bed of the family’s pickup truck.
——
Another neighbor called 911 while Sierra performed CPR on the 2-year-old. She said he wasn’t breathing when she found him.
“I was trying to give him some air….give him CPR. He was trying to close his eyes, but I was trying to keep him up,” said Sierra. “That’s when the police and ambulance arrived.”
The boys survived and as of Wednesday were still in the hospital. The oldest boy is in critical condition.
Sierra said the children’s mother, 20-year-old Sandra Mendoza, tried to get help by knocking on the neighbor’s door and spraying the children down with water.
“She kept saying, ‘my babies, my babies,’” said Sierra.
Sierra lives a few trailers over from Mendoza and has two children of her own.
“Seeing the two babies laying on the ground like that was the scariest thing in the world,” said a tearful Sierra. “I didn’t sleep all last night, I was so worried. It’s so terrible. It’s just so terrible.”
——
*** kids names: The Ishmael, 1, and Evon, 2
there is a video - the neighbor Sierra thought they drowned
it is heartbreaking to watch her tell what she remembers
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080902_mp_hot_car_death.389b80b4.html
Yeah, I am definitely sensitive on that issue, and I wouldn’t have responded to it at all except for the beginning about young people with babies. I guess you meant one person with multiple babies, but it didn’t read that way to me. Probably because I am sensitive to the issue. *duh* lol But I wasn’t “textually assaulting” you for the sober comment, Athena-I was responding to it with my own take. (You turned out to be right, though. Lord knows I am wrong a LOT, ha!)
Maybe, but I don’t think stupid has an age requirement, lol.
Well yeah, you never had a wreck, lol, you said it, you were smart enough to pull over! *grin*
Anyway, thank you for the kindness in your comment. But I do work in a child abuse prevention program working directly with at-risk families that have been reported for maltreatment, and I’m no anywhere close to wet behind the ears. What I do believe, is that sometimes there are reasons for people’s bad behavior. And I am trained to focus on those reasons, because addressing those reasons are the only hope for changing the behavior. Sometimes it is a simple as the person is just plain bad, and there truly is no hope for change. But more often there is a glimmer of good inside that can be built upon. So I guess you are right, I do tend to see the possibility of something better. Hope is something I can’t survive without, and I have been blessed many times to see my own hope inspire others to become better parents. It takes all kinds, those like me who hope for change, and those like you who see clearly when hope is futile, to strike the balance necessary for this field.
Well cheekysweetie… I’ve worked/interned with CPS, APS, CASA, Parents Anonymous… I’ve volunteered at the Crisis Center to work with abused women and children and show them the way to a happy life with NON DEPENDENCE on MEN…. I survived a marriage that my life hung in the balance one too many times… I volunteer my services as a Paralegal and volunteer with a local group - we take our pets to ‘at’ risk and ‘in’ risk kids to give pet therapy… I work with special needs children. I’ve volunteered with Head Start… I have 20 hours if I want to complete a Dlb BS in Crim Justice/Psychology… but I changed my degree to Social Science w/ a concerntration in Social work and I have 32 hours left. I do look for that thread of hope, I do believe in most people need a little help, I want to see that I inspire people and I LIVE WITH THE HOPE I HELP BUT MAYBE ONE PERSON … but if the world was ‘perfect’ and all of your and my good work paid off…. Morbid would be out of a job…. right Morbid?????
Amen to that!
I hate this shit so much now she thinks about her babies? Now?! Not when she was drinking or partying did she think once about her babies but now she’s worried because she knows her ass is going to jail. This pisses the shit out of me how fucking stupid. These stupid whores are good at opening their legs but not good at taking care of their kids. I hope they never give these to little boys back to her she doesnt deserve them.
And why wasn’t the husband/father charged? No disrespect, but how good of a Daddy was the father if he didn’t ask where the boys were, or better yet, help carry them in!! He should be charged just like her!!
Here is her phone number and address:
(281) 239-0698 3226 Rychlik Dr, Rosenberg, TX 77471
I confirmed the address at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5979013.html
I had to call and ask, “how the fuck do you live with yourself you piece of shit?”
She probably didn’t want to risk waking the kids up, removing them from the car, for fear the would want to stay up, and she wouldn’t be able to sleep. I assume that is what happened.
Young, two kids, partying, trailer, it does all fit…….Probably she was raised in the same situation/reality. I am sure we all have seen it, read about it, or heard about it.
No excuses, she fucked up big time……and hopefully her kids will move on to a better life……..
That said, those last few posts are way too angry….Check out the mother who sucked on her son’s stuff (story on FP) post that anger there….. I agree, she left them there intentionally, not even forgot them….
HOWEVER, seriously…way too much hate there (kindof creepy) and personal information? Her address…perps come here too, I would bet…….you just gave out the address of these kids……..Come on….in my opinion WAY WAY out of line……..just sayin