Police say a Texas teenager died after falling asleep inside her mother’s car. The unidentified family lives in Houston. A 15-year-old girl reportedly went outside to meet her mother in the car after the woman got off work around 3 a.m. August 8, 2025. The pair regularly met and talked inside the vehicle, but this time, things took a heartbreaking turn.
According to KHOU, the mother and daughter were recently homeless and often fell asleep inside the running car. In the early morning hours of August 8, the mother reportedly awoke around 5 a.m. and went inside the house to wake a second daughter to go to breakfast. When they returned to the car, they allegedly found the teenager unresponsive.
They took the 15-year-old to a nearby restaurant, where they met up with emergency responders. Sadly, they were unable to revive her.
Sad situation. @HCSOTexas deputies responded to a fast-food restaurant located at SH-249 @ Antoine.
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) August 8, 2025
Very preliminary: a mother and daughter (15) left their residence (2000 blk of Bunzel), when daughter became ill. The two pulled into the restaurant and EMS and deputies were… pic.twitter.com/88IEvj3QxZ
Many people commented on KHOU’s Facebook page, expressing skepticism about the story.
“As a person who worked graveyards for 10 years and fell asleep many times in a running vehicle I think this sounds a little sketchy,” someone wrote.
“How did the daughter pass away but the mother didn’t? They were both in the car and fell asleep,” another person agreed. “It’s not adding up.”
Several people questioned why the mother left the girl in the car. “Wait…it says the mother woke up and realized something was wrong,” one person wrote. “But she then proceeded to go inside to wake up the other daughter to go to breakfast??? Ummm, please make it make sense.”
But Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez shared the story on X, stating police believe the death was an accident.
“Information remains preliminary, as the follow-up is underway. It appears this may be a tragic accident. The mother and her daughter recently moved into the house after being homeless and they often slept in the car. They did the same at the house because of familiarity with the car,” he wrote. “The car was left running, thus, carbon monoxide exposure may have been a contributing factor.”
