Dozens of infants and children die in hot cars each year in the United States. Tragically, the majority of incidents happen when caregivers unknowingly forget a child in the back of a vehicle as opposed to purposefully leaving them there unsupervised. Such accidents typically happen amid a change of schedule or routine.
Many believe they already have dropped off their little ones with a care giver, only to discover their fatal mistake hours later. Others simply forgot they had the child with them in the first place, perhaps because their infant was sleeping. Whatever the reason, hot car deaths forever change families and communities.
Recently, a 10-month-old baby from Louisiana died after her mom inadvertently left her in a vehicle on a hot day after she was called in to work.
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The Jennings Police Department in Louisiana responded to a call about a 10-month-old baby left in a hot car.
Ochsner Hospital called the Jennings Police Department in Louisiana at roughly 4 p.m. August 13, according to a news release from the department. The call was about a 10-month-old baby girl whose mother claimed the infant had been in a hot car for approximately one and a half hours. At the time the release was published, the child was in critical condition.
Later that day, the baby was pronounced dead.
On August 16, KPLC reported a tragic update on the situation: The baby girl had died. The news outlet said the girl was pronounced dead about 11 p.m. on August 14.
The mom reportedly accidentally left her daughter in a hot car after she was called in to work.
So, what happened?
"Investigators interviewed the Mother who indicated she was called in to work and inadvertently left the child in the car while she was inside," the police department's news release read. "The investigation is ongoing."
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Police estimate the temperature inside the car reached 120 degrees.
Jennings Police Chief Danny Semmes offered insight into just how hot the inside of the vehicle was. “We’ll have to do some type of reenactment if possible to try and determine what the temperature in the car was," he told KPLC. "But our initial estimates were in excess of 120 degrees."
The police chief called it a 'tragic situation.'
"It's a tragic situation," Semmes told KATC. "My heart goes out to the baby and the family." No charges have been filed against the 10-month-old baby's mother thus far.
