An 11-month-old boy has died after he and his twin sister were left in the parking lot of a Honda car dealership in Oxford, Alabama. Police have said that the kids were left alone in their father's minivan for nearly four hours. Although the baby girl is now doing all right, police are calling her brother's death a "tragic incident" that could have been avoided.
Police responded to an emergency call shortly before noon Friday, after the pair were found unresponsive in their father's minivan.
The unnamed children were left in the van from about 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. Friday before they were discovered, CNN reported. Their father, who works at Sunny King Honda, only realized he had left his kids in the car after their mother phoned him to check on the toddlers. By then, it was too late for his son.
The father reportedly raced to the vehicle and dialed 911. Both kids were outside of the vehicle but still in their car seats once police arrived.
The twins were rushed to the Regional Medical Center emergency room, where the boy was pronounced dead.
Miraculously, his sister is reportedly doing well after her close brush with death.
"All indications seem that this is a tragic accident," Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown explained to CNN. "No one can fathom the way this family feels, and I especially want to make sure that people are sympathetic to this family and that they get all the facts before they pass judgment."
In a statement released this week, a spokesperson from the dealership also expressed the employer's sympathies.
"The Sunny King Automotive Group family is hurting," the spokesperson said. "We request your thoughts and prayers for our employee and his family and the Sunny King Automotive Group family."
Police Chief Bill Partridge told AL.com that the entire Oxford Police Department is also heartbroken over the incident.
“It’s a scene you don’t want to respond to,’’ he said. “It’s one of those things that will stay with you for the rest of your life.”
AL.com reports that the temperature on Friday soared into the 90s, making it dangerously hot for children to be in the car unattended.
The incident, as heartbreaking as it is, offers yet another glaring reminder to parents that it is never safe to leave kids alone in the car — especially without air conditioning or an open window for ventilation — for any amount of time. This year alone, 47 children have died as a result of being in a hot car, noted the safety organization KidsAndCars.org.
