Report: Dad waited days to take severely burned son for treatment
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Texas man drove his 8-year-old son from Houston to an Indianapolis hospital days after the boy had suffered severe burns, without getting him any medical help until they arrived, according to an investigative report.
The boy’s mother, Amy Taylor, came to WISH-TV hoping to get answers.
“I would love for justice to be made for my son,” Taylor said.
Hospital workers on Thursday said the boy, named Khamani, is stable and recovering at Riley Children’s Health.
A court document obtained by WISH-TV contains an investigative report from the Indiana Department of Child Services, which states more than 40 percent of Khamani’s body was covered in burns when his father brought him in.
The report states Khamani somehow suffered severe burns to his face, neck, arms, chest and back. According to the report, Khamani’s father said the boy was playing with a lighter in the dad’s Houston home and somehow set himself on fire on Nov. 28 or 29.
According to the report, the boy’s father did not seek medical care until Dec. 2, when he drove 16 hours to Indianapolis and walked into Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital with Khamani wrapped in plastic pads.
“He should have called someone in Houston,” Taylor said.
The document states Khamani was transferred to Riley Children’s Health, and DCS flew Taylor in from her home in Florida to be with her son.
Taylor said she had lost custody of Khamani due to her drug use. The boy’s dad gained custody in early 2018, despite the fact that he’d also been found guilty of drug possession in the past, according to the DCS report.
“I think he should be put up under the jail,” Taylor said.
According to the report, DCS contacted a Houston Police Department detective who is now investigating what happened.
The document states Khamani’s dad claimed he did not go to a hospital in Texas because he thought he’d lose custody. Khamani used to live in Indianapolis with his mom, who’s been accused of neglect by DCS in the past.
“Everybody makes mistakes and it’s either up to you to learn from them or keep making the same mistakes over,” Taylor said.
According to the court document, DCS does not believe either parent is fit, at this point, to raise Khamani.
“It’s just hard to believe someone could actually do this,” Taylor said.
The boy’s father was questioned by DCS, but Taylor said she does not know where he is now.
Houston police said they cannot comment on Khamani’s whereabouts, but they are investigating the case and no one had been charged on Thursday.
An IMPD spokesperson said they did not have the father’s name in their reports and, if they are working on the case, it would likely be in assistance to Houston police.
News 8 has not named the father because he has not been charged in this case.
DCS declined to comment on this case Thursday.