A day after being left in a hot van in the middle of the day for more than an hour, 6-year-old Tanner Roberts is recovering at home with his parents.
"Tanner is definitely on the mend," said his mother, Tracy.
Wednesday afternoon, Tracy Roberts went to pick up Tanner at Quest Alliance, a day care center for children with special needs at 75th Avenue and Indian School Road. According to Roberts, they said Tanner was a "no show."
A few minutes later, Roberts said a staff worker ran out to the van in the parking lot, ran back into the office to retrieve keys and then ran back to the van to pull Tanner out of the sweltering vehicle.
"He was trapped in the van. He couldn't move. He was strapped in. He was locked in. His whole body was red, he was like a rag doll. Who knows how hot it was in there?" said his mother.
Paramedics rushed Tanner to the hospital, pumped him with fluids and eventually sent him home to rest.
On Thursday, Tanner had a follow-up doctor's appointment and was continuing to get his strength back.
"If I hadn't left work early, if I had been there an hour, an hour and a half later like I normally would have, Tanner could have died," said Roberts.
Quest Alliance CEO, Susan Bastian told CBS 5 News that they were conducting an internal investigation into the incident but that she could not comment beyond that.
In 2007, Quest Alliance had an even more serious incident happen. Jason Allan, 8, who was autistic, wandered away from the Quest Alliance facility they operated out of a church near 65th Avenue and Indian School Road. Allan's body was found in a nearby canal, where he had drowned.
According to Steve Meisner with the Department of Economic Security, the state took immediate action after that incident.
"What we did in 2007, was remove all the children, notified all the parents we were doing so, posted a notice on the door and then worked with the program and a consultant that they hired and had them develop a corrective action plan. We did not allow them to reopen until they met all the terms of that corrective action plan and that took about four months," said Meisner.
DES investigators were at Quest Alliance Thursday morning to do what they call a health and safety inspection. The business was allowed to operate as usual. Meisner said that severe actions could be taken but that the state is waiting for the police to wrap up their investigation.
"The fact that this happened twice in four years is something that will have to be dealt with. And will be dealt with," said Meisner.
Tanner's father, Dave McCarty, frantically drove home from a contract job in Tucson after he learned what had happened with his son Wednesday.
"I just can't fathom forgetting. It absolutely blows me away. It's so irresponsible. There's, uh, I want some accountability. I want something done for this, and I'm not going to rest until it's done," said McCarty.
McCarty and Roberts said they want those responsible to be criminally prosecuted for negligence. And they want the state to pull Quest Alliances' license and shut the place down. They have consulted a lawyer and are considering legal action.
"It's unbelievable what happened to my son. It's unbelievable that after, in their care, a young man died and they're still allowed to care for these kids disabilities," said Roberts.
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