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Father of kids washed away in Tonto Basin charged with manslaughter: His attorney speaks out

Daniel Rawlings faces 10 felony counts after three children under his care were washed away while attempting to cross Tonto Creek

PHOENIX — It was a tragic story.. three young children swept away in the Tonto Creek in a flood right after Thanksgiving last year.

Now, the mother and father of two of the three children are facing 17 felony charges, including manslaughter and child abuse. 

"I cannot think of a more tragic situation than what he is facing. This reopens the wound and I'm not sure that is a wound that would heal anyway,“ Bruce Griffen, Daniel Rawlings attorney said. 

The charges were filed on April 1st. Daniel Rawlings is charged with 7 counts of felony child abuse, a class 3 felony and 3 counts of manslaughter. 

His wife, Lacey Rawlings, faces 7 counts on child abuse. 

Daniel could face decades in prison if found guilty.

“These charges carry major league, monster prison times,” Griffen said "Are we worried about that? Sure we are. Does it measure with the loss of a child? Nothing measures with that loss.”

Griffen would not speculate why the Gila County Attorney decided to bring these charges instead of charges with lesser penalties like child endangerment.

"There are many possibilities in terms of if needed to be charged.. could have been charged," Griffen said. 

The Gila County Attorney's office in an email said details of the case would be laid out on April 21st in the next court meeting. 

On why they made the decision to charge the Rawlings with the combined 17 felonies, the County Attorney's office said a decision was made after a thorough review of all the evidence. 

- What about the bridge? 

Local community members have been pushing for a bridge to prevent more people from dying in Tonto Creek. 

There is no bridge in the area and when the floodwaters rise, it can leave hundreds of houses stranded from the rest of the population. 

After the death of the three children, state lawmakers started to move towards appropriating the needed money for the bridge. Lawmakers seemed to be prepared to fund the building of a bridge before the recent outbreak of COVID-19. 

Lawmakers passed a stripped-down version of the state budget without funds for the bridge. 

 "I think we were very close to amending the request in such a way that we would get near-unanimous support in the House," House sponsor of the legislation Rep David Cook said in a statement. "But, a lot of priorities were set aside for the moment while we passed the streamlined budget to give the Governor the resources the State needed to deal with the virus."

When the House returns to pass a full budget, Rep. Cook said he expects the legislation would pass with overwhelming support. 

"We don’t want families grieving the loss of loves ones," he said. "We need people to be able to travel safely to school and work."

Senator Sylvia Allen, the Senate Sponsor of similar legislation, said she plans to make bridge funding a priority when lawmakers return. 

Hundreds of volunteers and first responders helped search the Tonto Creek area in the days and weeks after Austin, Colby and Willa were swept away. 

According to police at the time, Daniel and Lacey ignored signs and tried to cross the flooded road when the military-style truck they were driving got stuck.

RELATED: 

After deadly flooding, could the Tonto Creek finally get a bridge?

Body of 6-year-old swept away in Tonto Creek on Black Friday found at Roosevelt Lake

Tonto Basin residents asked for a bridge years before fatal flooding

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