3-year-old Missouri girl dies after being found in hot SUV
A 3-year-old Missouri girl has died after being found unresponsive in a hot vehicle that was parked outside her home, authorities said.
Temperatures were in the 90s on Friday when the girl was discovered in the SUV, Carthage police Lt. Eric Miller said. She was rushed to a hospital in nearby Joplin and then flown to a hospital in Springfield, where she died Saturday.
Carthage Police Chief Bill Hawkins told the Springfield News-Leader that investigators estimate the girl was in the car for a little more than an hour before a family member found her. Hawkins said police believe the girl climbed into the car by herself, but the investigation is ongoing, the newspaper reported.
No arrests have been made, and the girl's name wasn't immediately released.
The girl's death continues a deadly trend in the U.S. this summer.
Last week, a 3-month-old baby died after being left in a hot car in Washington, D.C.
In July, a 3-year-old boy died after being left in a car outside a South Florida preschool and a 1-year-old girl died after being left in a hot car for four hours in Georgia.
In June, a Virginia father died by suicide after unintentionally leaving his 18-month-old son inside a hot car for several hours.
Also in June, a 5-year-old boy died inside a car in Houston, Texas, as temperatures reached triple digits. Police were also investigating the June 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."
