TODDLER DIES MOTHER LEAVES IN HOT CAR FOR 45 MINUTES FORGET

[Daanyeer]

Texas toddler dies as her mother leaves her in a hot car for 45 minutes after forgetting she was there


By Mail Foreign Service
18th June 2010


A girl aged one has died after being left in a hot car for 45 minutes - because her mother forgot she was there.
Temperatures outside the car had soared to nearly 33C.

Police in Kingsville, southern Texas, said the mother had just returned home from picking up her children when she left the young girl in the family car on Wednesday afternoon.
It is not clear how many children the woman has. She has not been identified.

The case has been turned over to prosecutors, though no charge has yet been filed.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported that the local temperature about 5pm on Wednesday, when police were called, was 32.78C. The heat index was 39C.

At that heat, the temperature inside the car would have soared to an injury-causing level within just 15 minutes.

'A child's body overheats three to five times more than an adult because they tend to observe more heat and sweat less,' Mari Cantu with Driscoll Children's Hospital in Texas, told local media.
'So leaving a child in a vehicle can lead to deadly consequences, even heat stroke. They can get seizures, brain damage. It can damage their other vital organs.'


The girl was the fourth Texan child to die in a hot car this year. Since 1998, 62 children have died in hot cars in Texas.
State police said parents in Texas could face a criminal charge for leaving their child alone for just five minutes or more.
If the child is injured while they are alone, parents could be charged with a felony case of injury.

They warned parents to do things to help them remember their child is in a car - such as placing a purse or wallet on the back seat with the child.

'Parents need to be aware of their children's locations during the hottest time of the year,' police said in a statement.
'A child is in danger if in a vehicle for just a few minutes.'


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