Mother charged after Texas boy, 3, dies in hot van

CAMERON PARK, Texas – A Texas mother has been charged with manslaughter in the death of her 3-year-old son, who wandered off and became trapped in the family's broken-down van on a day when temperatures topped 90 degrees.

Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio says 33-year-old Elena Isabel Rodriguez was doing housework Tuesday and thought all seven children in the house were watching television. But another child found Francisco Estrada in the van more than 1½ hours later.

Lucio said Rodriguez was negligent for losing track of the boy for such a long period.

Rodriguez was arraigned Wednesday and is being held on $40,000 bond. A jail official said it was not known whether Rodriguez had retained an attorney. The manslaughter charge is a second-degree felony that carries a sentence of two to 20 years.