DAY CARE CENTER OPERATORS IN JAIL

Charged In Van Accident That Killed 5

Two operators of a day care facility have been indicted on criminal charges
stemming from a crash last year in which a school van driver and four
children were killed.

The unusual indictment contends Camelia Gibson and Sandra Gordon are
criminally responsible for entrusting the care of the children to a driver
with a record of drug abuse.

Each woman is charged with four counts of reckless homicide and two counts
of reckless aggravated assault in connection with the crash on Midtown
Interstate 240 that killed four children and injured two others on April 4
last year.

The driver also died in the crash.

Each charge carries a sentence of two to four years in prison.

"They're being held accountable for their own negligence," not for the
actions of the driver, said state prosecutor Thomas Henderson. "We're
charging that they neglected their own duty to safeguard and protect the
children and that's what caused the death of the children."

The charges say the women were aware of a substantial and unjustifiable
risk and consciously disregarded the risk, causing death or serious bodily
injury to the children. The indictments were returned by a Shelby County
Grand Jury on March 13 but by law were not made public until the women were
taken into custody.

Gordon, 31, was arrested Wednesday at her home in Clarksdale, Miss., and
Gibson, 43, surrendered herself Thursday.

Both women were booked at the Shelby County Women's Jail East and are being
held on $100,000 bond. Their case has been assigned to Judge Carolyn Wade
Blackett in Division 4 of Criminal Court.

The crash occurred when the Tippy Toes Learning Academy van veered off the
interstate and struck the concrete overpass at Person Avenue.

The driver of the van, Wesley B. Hudson, 27, had 1.9 grams of marijuana in
his pocket at the time of the crash and also had levels of marijuana
byproducts in both his blood and urine, reports show.

Authorities have not said whether the amounts indicated recent use of
marijuana by Hudson or whether he was impaired, but toxicologists say the
drug's byproducts generally remain in the blood for only a period of hours
after use. Marijuana byproducts or metabolytes can remain much longer in
the urine and other parts of the body such as the fatty tissues.

Hudson pleaded guilty to marijuana possession two years earlier.

Investigators also said Hudson, who was 6-foot-1 and weighed 359 pounds,
had a sleep disorder and often nodded off while driving.

The children who died were Gordon's son, Marcquon McCray, 8; Tika Bonner,
6; Gerald Bonner Jr., 9, and Brayna Nicole Robinson, 6, who was Gibson's
granddaughter.

Court records indicate that Gordon owned the Tippy Toes Learning Academy at
1730 Lamar and that she leased the vans and facility from Gibson.

A series of wrongful death suits were filed after the children's deaths and
were settled out of court under confidential terms agreed to by the day
care and the insurers.

But prosecutors seeking to build a criminal case filed investigative
subpoenas seeking to obtain depositions or statements of employees of Tippy
Toes, including Gordon and Gibson. Prosecutors said they needed to clarify
the business roles of the two women and who was making decisions for the
day care. The women tried to quash the subpoena in court, but were
unsuccessful at each level up to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, which
ruled against them in January.

Attorney Eugene Laurenzi, represents Sandra Gordon in civil action, and
isn't sure if he'll be asked to represent her in the criminal case. He
said, "I believe the charges to be untrue. She would never do anything to
hurt her child or anybody else's children. She sustained a tragic loss
herself and it is my understanding that it is still unclear as to exactly
what caused the accident."

Because van driver Hudson had a previous conviction for possession of
marijuana, a background check was required by the Tennessee Department of
Human Services but never requested by the day care center, prosecutors contend.

Gibson has owned or operated at least four day care centers in Memphis
since 1991.. Her license was revoked in 2000 after her son was charged with
counterfeiting money at the day care center.

The license for Tippy Toes was issued to Gordon, who had worked for a day
care Gibson owned in Greenville, Miss.

The Little Wonders of the World day care opened in January at the old Tippy
Toes site. An investigation of the new owner and day care director
indicated no connection to Gibson or Gordon, said a spokesman for the state
licensing agency.