Pa. woman charged in heat death of autistic man

PENNDEL, Pa. - A Pennsylvania counselor was charged with manslaughter Tuesday in the heat death of a 20-year-old autistic man left for hours in a hot van, but her lawyer said many people share in the blame.

Stacey Strauss, 40, of Philadelphia, was arraigned on a felony neglect charge and misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment Tuesday. According to court papers, Strauss denied being assigned to care for Bryan Nevins, who used to live in Oceanside, on an outing the day of his death.

Nevins was found dead in the rear seat of a scorching hot van about five hours after a small group returned July 24 to Woods Services, a residential treatment program in suburban Philadelphia. The temperature that day reached 97 degrees.

Strauss, who was driving the van, told authorities she was only responsible for one client while the other counselor was responsible for three others. But her supervisor told police Strauss was assigned to watch Nevins and a second client.

Bucks County prosecutors expect Strauss will post her $50,000 bail by today.

- AP