Parents sue day care over infant’s death

Vincent Clark III, 10 months, was found not breathing after being put down for a nap at a Lansing day care, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

Lawsuit says 10-month-old was found not breathing after being put down for a nap.

The parents of a 10-month-old baby boy found unresponsive in the basement of a Lansing home day care in April and later died are suing the owners of the facility, a place the parents’ lawyer Tuesday called a “ticking time bomb.”

“This horrific tragedy was completely preventable,” Heidi L. Wickstrom, the parents’ lawyer, told reporters during a news conference.

Vincent Clark III was put down for a nap in the basement of Learn-N-Play All Day Home Childcare on April 9, and left unattended for about two hours in a play pen, according to the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

When staff came to check on him, he was “unresponsive and not breathing,” the lawsuit states.

The baby died the next day at Comer Children’s Hospital. The child had no previously known health issues, said parents Vincent Clark II and Ebony Clark, who sat with their lawyer Tuesday.

“He was in general a very happy baby . . . always brought joy to other people,” the father told reporters.

Vincent Clark II and Ebony Clark talk to reporters Tuesday about the lawsuit they filed over the death of their 10-month-old son.