A woman who operates a licensed day care business out of her Thornton home ran over an 18-month-old boy Thursday as she backed out of her driveway, Thornton Police spokesman Matt Barnes said today.
Barnes identified the woman as 34-year-old Robyn Miller and the victim as Riley Lawyer, also of Thornton.
Miller had just loaded children into the vehicle and started backing up, believing all were inside, said Barnes.
As she backed up, she heard a bump, immediately stopped the car and found she had hit Riley, said the police spokesman.
She immediately called 911 and tried to administer first aid to the child, said Barnes.
When police arrived at the home in the 9000 block of Jackson Street at about 4:40 p.m. Thursday they found Riley lying in the driveway suffering from severe head trauma.
The child was taken to a local hospital where he later died, said Barnes.
Riley Lawyer was one of the children Miller cared for at her day care business, said Barnes.
“Robyn Miller has been very cooperative and is emotionally devastated,” said Barnes.
He said four children were in the car with Miller at the time of the accident.
Barnes said that drugs and alcohol are not suspected in the accident.
The investigation is on-going. The case will be presented to the district attorney who will decide if charges will be filed, said Barnes. A potential charge could be careless driving resulting in death, he added.
Liz McDonough, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Human Services, said Robyn Miller has had a day care license for up to six children in the home since February 2004.
The license allows her to care for children up to the age of 13, said McDonough.
“There have been no complaints, no child abuse incidents and no critical incidents” at the Miller home in the more than six years Miller has been licensed, said McDonough.
McDonough said that human services would await the final police reports before determining if there are any licensing issues that need to be investigated.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
