CHRISTIANSBURG — A Blacksburg woman who faces charges in the death of her son last year will not go to trial for another year.

Mary Nelson Parks, 45, is charged with child neglect and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Juan Turner Parks, who was almost 2 years old. He died of heat stroke Sept. 7, 2007, after being left in a car all day.

Since her son’s death, Parks has become involved in an organization that works to raise awareness of such events, her attorney said today.

“This was a tragic accident,” Dave Rhodes said. He said Parks has become involved in the organization Kids and Cars “to make sure something like this never happens to another family again.”

The mission of Kids and Cars, according to its Web site, is "to assure no child dies or is injured in a non-traffic, motor vehicle related event."

A jury trial on the charges against Parks was scheduled to begin Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court and last up to three days. But at a hearing this morning, the case was postponed until December 2009.

One of the prosecutors in the case, T. Alexander Cloud Jr. of the Wythe County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, said he and defense attorneys both moved for the continuance.

Wythe County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald Mabe was appointed a special prosecutor in the case after Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Brad Finch recused himself because of ties to the Parks family.

No reason was given in court for the unusually long continuance, and Cloud said after the five-minute hearing that his office doesn’t comment on pending cases.

Rhodes said after the hearing that he wasn’t at liberty to discuss the reasons behind the continuance because the case is still pending.

In the meantime, he said, Parks “is continuing in her healing process” and following all recommendations given to her by the Department of Social Services. Parks has another young child at home.