Georgia 1-year-old girl dies after being left in hot car for 4 hours
A 1-year-old girl died after being left in a hot car for four hours in Danielsville, Georgia, authorities said.
Police on Thursday responded to a call of an unresponsive infant in a car outside a Walgreens store, Capt. Jimmy Patton of the Madison County Sheriff's Office told CBS News. They arrived to find the unresponsive 1-year-old girl with her mother.
She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, Patton said.
The mother is a Walgreens employee who had dropped off her other child at daycare, but had forgot to drop off her 1-year-old daughter at a separate facility. She headed to work, unknowingly leaving her in the car, Patton said.
The Madison County Sheriff's Office is actively investigating, but no charges have yet been brought against the mother. The case is being referred to the district attorney for review, Patton added.
The tragedy comes days after a Central Virginia father died by suicide after unintentionally leaving his 18-month-old son inside a hot car for several hours.
"When the father discovered the child deceased in the vehicle, he returned home and took the child inside the residence. He then exited the residence and shot himself," police said in a news release.
Just last week, a 5-year-old boy died inside a car in Houston, Texas, as temperatures reached triple digits. In Georgia, police are investigating the death of a 3-year-old under what appear to be similar circumstances.
Mike Bettes, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell that if it's 100 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car would be 119 degrees after just 10 minutes. After half an hour, the temperature inside the vehicle would be 134 degrees, which is "unsurvivable for a small child strapped inside a car seat or for pets."