1-Year-Old Girl Left In Truck Dies After Going Into Cardiac Arrest
LANSDOWNE, Md. (WJZ) -- Even a moment is too long to leave a child in a car alone, especially when it's hot outside. Friday, the heat claimed the life of a one-year-old.
Monique Griego has more.
Baltimore County Police confirm that little girl was not in the care of her parents. It was another relative that left her in the backseat of a truck for several hours. And investigators say he simply forgot she was there.
Forensics detectives are examining every inch of a black truck after a one-year-old little girl, left inside the vehicle during scorching temperatures, goes into cardiac arrest and dies.
"It's like an oven. It had to be like an oven. You roast a turkey in an oven, imagine putting a human being in an oven," said Brian Salvato, neighbor.
Baltimore County Police identified the little girl as 16-month-old Sabriya Towels of Baltimore City.
Investigators say earlier in the morning a family relative had picked her up from another location, and was supposed to drop her off at a Head Start daycare in the 4100 block of McDowell Lane.
But police say later, around 1 p.m., he returned to the daycare and realized she wasn't there.
"A man had arrived to pick up a child. He had been told the child was never dropped off in the morning. He ran back out to his vehicle. He discovered the child was unresponsive in the backseat," said Cathy Batton, Baltimore County Police.
As temperatures in Lansdowne skyrocketed to around 90 degrees, detectives say the baby went unnoticed in the backseat for several hours.
"He returned to an address in Baltimore City, went into the home and slept for approximately four hours," Batton said.
News of the little girl's death shocked neighbors of the daycare.
"For that to happen, it just touches my heart because it's a child," said Makita Nance, neighbor.
Police are now reminding everyone to be extra mindful with children and animals during what can be dangerously hot summer months.
"Obviously, it's a tragedy every time it occurs. And every time is one time too many. In this case, we have a family that's suffered a tremendous loss," said Batton.
As of right now, no charges have been filed against the relative. Police are forwarding the case to the State's Attorney's Office.
Police are awaiting results from the medical examiner to determine an exact cause of death.
