2019 Hot Car Deaths

[knoxmomof2]

The Knoxville death (#31) happened 5 minutes down the road from me at a store I shop at about once or twice a month.

I find it odd that we still have no more details other than the child's gender and age. It happened like a month ago and nothing. I know several of these stories had victims names, the adult's name and relation to the child, circumstances, etc out by that evening or the next day. Not with this one. The most recent story was 3 weeks ago! The news stories just say DCS is investigating but the family had no history with them.

[Cat Herder]

The Knoxville death (#31) happened 5 minutes down the road from me at a store I shop at about once or twice a month.

I find it odd that we still have no more details other than the child's gender and age. It happened like a month ago and nothing. I know several of these stories had victims names, the adult's name and relation to the child, circumstances, etc out by that evening or the next day. Not with this one. The most recent story was 3 weeks ago! The news stories just say DCS is investigating but the family had no history with them.

A quick search of the local obits for a 6-month-old male infant who died that day would yield results. Unfortunately, my internet is too slow to proceed right now. I am sure it is due to extra resources devoted to the storm response. It tells me they have no intent to charge the parents.

[knoxmomof2]

A quick search of the local obits for a 6-month-old male infant who died that day would yield results. Unfortunately, my internet is too slow to proceed right now. I am sure it is due to extra resources devoted to the storm response. It tells me they have no intent to charge the parents.

Great idea, thank you! I tried it, but found nothing. The search parameters for our local paper are pretty limited though.....

[jenboo]

38. 3-year-old girl left in hot car for 2-3 hours died in Gilbert, police say.

While the mother was at work, the father was watching the 3-year-old.

"He accidentally left her in his vehicle after dropping the other two girls off at school," said Judy Rott, the neighbor who lives across the street.

https://www.azfamily.com/news/year-old-girl-left-in-car-for---hours/article_f4d03c5c-ce9c-11e9-b9c2-b796b27b3930.html

[Cat Herder]

40, now.

40 9/3/2019 Gilbert, AZ 108 Girl 3 yr
39 8/29/2019 Lexington, KY 84 Valen Hakizimana 2 mo
38 8/29/2019 Pineville, NC 85 Boy 1 yr
37 8/25/2019 Brownsburg, IN 80 Marah Anne Crapo 21 mo
36 8/16/2019 Booneville, MS 94 Lincoln Knox Dodds 21 mo
35 8/16/2019 Lindenwold, NJ 88 Milliani Robertson-Lawrence 22 mo
34 8/13/2019 Santaquin, UT 91 Boy 2 mo
33 8/11/2019 Lawrence, KS 89 DéVonté Lashawn Turner 2 yr
32 8/9/2019 Knoxville, TN 91 Boy 6 mo
31 8/7/2019 Columbus, NE 86 Boy 1 yr
30 8/6/2019 Moultrie, GA 90 Damian Elias Leyva 21 mo
29 8/5/2019 Ruffin, SC 88 Cristina Pangalangan 13 yr
28 8/5/2019 San Diego, CA 83 Scarlett Grace Harris 2 yr
27 8/1/2019 Corbin, KY 88 Aubrey Rose 2 yr
26 8/1/2019 Garland, TX 95 Victoria Tran 9 mo
25 7/29/2019 Oakland Park, FL 93 Noah Sneed 2 yr
24 7/26/2019 Bronx, NY 86 Luna Rodriguez 1 yr
23 7/26/2019 Bronx, NY 86 Phoenix Rodriguez 1 yr
22 7/16/2019 Richmond, VA 93 Luciana Kaye Diaz 10 mo
21 7/11/2019 Smyrna, TN 93 Daylin Palmer 3 yr
20 7/9/2019 Evansville, IN 90 Oliver Dill 3 yr
19 7/2/2019 Denton, TX 93 Sarbesh Gurung 2 yr
18 6/30/2019 Sioux City, IA 98 Girl 16 mo
17 6/28/2019 Dothan, AL 93 Castiel King 2 yr
16 6/27/2019 Morristown, TN 90 Benjamin Santana 3 yr
15 6/22/2019 Galveston, TX 92 Ryan Peña 18 mo
14 6/21/2019 Bardwell, TX 94 Mia Villegas 11 mo
13 6/20/2019 Providence Village, TX 98 Kaysen Neyland 4 yr
12 6/8/2019 Butler County, KS 86 Girl 3 mo
11 6/2/2019 Calverton Park, MO 79 Joseline Eichelberger 11 mo
10 5/22/2019 Blytheville, SC 88 Zion Akinrefon 4 yr
9 5/22/2019 Jacksonville, FL 95 Brooklyn Isaac 4 mo
8 5/18/2019 Indianapolis, In 87 Maria Guadalupe Sanchez 1 yr
7 5/11/2019 Lake Havasu, AZ 85 Malia Mae Martin 18 mo
6 5/6/2019 Lakewood Township, NJ 69 Girl 21 mo
5 5/4/2019 St. Paul, MN 71 Riley Taylor 4 yr
4 5/2/2019 Boomer, NC 82 Kaiden Logan 9 mo
3 4/22/2019 Glendale, AZ 86 Girl 18 mo
2 4/10/2019 Perdido Key, FL 81 Joy Monell-Merritt 2 yrs
1 4/4/2019 Melbourne, FL 79 Richard Wighart 14 mos

* The order has changed due to other investigations, I presume.

[Cat Herder]

Double post

[happymom]

The one in Santaquin, UT is being investigated as intentional. The baby was 6 months old (not sure why the list shows 2 months, unless this is a DIFFERENT case...I can't find any news about a 2 month old in Santaquin, though)

SANTAQUIN, Utah (ABC4 News) – Police in Santaquin are investigating after a 6-month old boy died and was brought into the hospital with a body temperature of over 109 degrees.

According to a search warrant, the boy was already deceased when his mother brought him into the ER just before 6 p.m. on August 13. Doctors said the infant had hot red flushed skin that was shedding and a core temperature that was obtained by a rectal thermometer of 109.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/utah-baby-who-died-had-body-temp-of-109-police-believe-he-was-left-in-a-hot-car/

Police said the woman appeared to be overly concerned about self-preservation and of officers accusing her of something rather than being concerned about losing her child, the warrant further states.

Police are still investigating and have requested a search warrant for the mother’s phone to help build a timeline of where she was during the day.

ABC4 has left off the name of the child and the mother as she has not yet been charged with any crime.

[Cat Herder]

* Thank you for adding that. I had too slow of internet speed to backtrack and follow the comparison and change in numbering. It is becoming a real problem.

SANTAQUIN — Santaquin police have been investigating the death of a 2-month-old boy who investigators suspect was left in the back of a car for hours.

But why the baby was inside the vehicle that long was still being investigated Thursday. The boy’s mother, who Santaquin police say has given them inconsistent and false statements, is also under investigation.

As of Thursday, no one had been arrested and no charges in the case had been filed. But police say the case is still active as detectives continue to serve search warrants collecting evidence.

The investigation began Aug. 13 when officers were called to Mountain View Hospital in Payson.

“It was reported an infant had died at a storage unit in Santaquin,” a search warrant affidavit filed in 4th District Court states.

The boy had “hot red flushed skin” and a body temperature of 109.8 degrees, the warrant states. Doctors also noted that rigor mortis had already set in, according to the affidavit, which is something that happens a few hours after death.

”Prior to the emergency room calling, police and medical personnel had not received any emergency calls regarding this incident,” the warrant states.

As investigators were questioning the baby’s mother, they noted her “physical effect was unusual for a mother who just lost their infant child. She was calm and showing very little emotion. She was crying off and on struggling to provide tears and when asked a question she could stop crying instantly. (She) appeared to be overly concerned about self-preservation and me accusing her of something rather than being concerned about losing her child,” an officer wrote in the affidavit.

When asked to provide a timeline of the day, the mother “continually extended the time frames for each event and made it appear it took longer than expected to get to and from particular locations,” the warrant states.

For instance, she claimed it took 35 minutes to drive from Santaquin to the hospital on state Route 198 while driving in a “frantic rush.” But officers noted that even when driving the speed limit, that trip should only take 10 minutes.

Also neighbors who she claimed saw her with her child and a meeting she claimed to have at the storage unit in Santaquin turned out to be not true, according to the warrant.

“(Her) timeline was off and her story had large gaps of time that were unaccounted for. (She) proceeded to change her story a couple of times regarding the several hours leading up to her arrival at the hospital,” the warrant states.

The woman also claimed her cellphone was dead, which is why she didn’t call 911.

When the officer said he was going to seize her cellphone, the woman became defensive and “the phone was mysteriously lost,” according to the affidavit.

The next day, however, police say the woman gave them her phone as well as a different story about her whereabouts leading up to her arrival at the hospital.

“She claimed she went driving all around the south end of Utah County looking for her lost dog with her child in the car and lost track of time. She stated her child must have gotten too hot while in the car,” the warrant states.

Police say they believe the baby, Wade Ron Taylor, died from being in the back of the car too long, as the mother claims. But as of Thursday, the reasons for the child being in the car that long were unconfirmed. - https://www.ksl.com/article/46632909...eft-in-vehicle

[happymom]

I think that is bad reporting in the ksl.com article.

I do believe it is the same case, the dates/city/internal temperature lines up, but I think the age of the child is incorrect. If you search for his obituary, his photo is definitely that of a 6 month old vs. 2 month old.

Not that it changes the severity of the tragic event. It seems so suspicious though. I am interested to see how it pans out. I feel so sad about it

[Cat Herder]

41

41 9/17/2019 Hobbs, NM 90 Zariah Hasheme 2 yr

HOBBS, N.M. - A 2-year-old girl died in a hot car after a babysitter left the child in a hot car for several hours, police said. Hobbs Police said Tammy Brooks, 41, was supposed to drop the child off at day care but instead drove to work and left the toddler in the car for several hours. Investigators said Brooks realized the child was in the car when she went to the car to run an errand.

Brooks was arrested and charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death. - https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-...u6zGcsxWqcphUI

[happymom]

Gosh, can you imagine being that parent? These just make me sooo soo sad.

[Cat Herder]

Gosh, can you imagine being that parent? These just make me sooo soo sad.

It is sad.

It is also sad that she is immediately charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death and the majority of the parents above that did the exact same thing were not charged at all.

"Investigators learned that the child was left in the care of 41-year-old, Tammie Brooks, of Hobbs, at approximately 6:30 AM on the morning of September 17. Brooks was supposed to drop the child off at daycare; however, drove to her place of employment instead. The child was left unattended in a car seat for several hours until Brooks realized the child was still in the car after running an errand. An autopsy will be conducted by the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque, NM.

Tammie was charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death, a 1st degree felony, and is currently incarcerated in the Hobbs City Jail pending arraignment."

[Country Kids]

With this case I wonder if she was a last minute babysitter and not used to having a little one in care?

[Cat Herder]

42

9/21/2019 San Antonio, TX 93 Liam Ordonez 3 yr

"SAN ANTONIO - A 3-year-old boy died Saturday after being left in a hot car in Texas, police said. A family came home from a T-ball game in the afternoon with their two sons and accidentally left one of the boys in the vehicle.

"One parent thought the other parent had grabbed both of the children, and, in fact, only the 6-year-old had been taken out of the car," Lt. Jesse Salame, of the San Antonio Police Department, told ABC News. "By the time they realized it, several hours had passed, and when they got the child out of the vehicle, he was not responsive.”

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

If confirmed by the medical examiner as a death related to being in a hot car, it would be the sixth child to die in that manner this year in Texas, according to Kids and Cars, a nonprofit group that brings awareness to safety issues surrounding children and vehicles.

Investigators called it a “terrible accident.”

“There's no way that this was anything more than just an accident," Salame told ABC News. "They were in a hurry or they got distracted, and that very literally could happen to anybody, and that's probably the most tragic thing of it all." - https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-...GpqN5AicjBg7B0

[Unregistered]

Every time I see these and see how MANY times we are warned about this, I get more and more suspicious these aren't 'accidents'. Sometimes, I feel it is negligence and sometimes, I feel it is purposeful. Ran a dc for over 11 yrs, never forgot a single kid. In fact, I would panick if say a Fri I had only 3 kids in care bc the other 3 had off, when doing head counts. In my mind I knew they had the day off but of course I knew I had 6 "enrolled" kids plus mine at the time. So, part time kids always threw me off but certainly, you CHECK! But no, these parents are consumed with everything else. Now, if a baby dies bc of a 'sensor failure' the manufacturer will be sued..mark my words. It isn't up to everyone else to do your job for you. Being a parent means SACRIFICE. Can't find a sitter? Take the kid WITH you to work that day. Or call your boss and be honest....maybe they'll have a hookup. If ur boss is a tool? Find other employment. Co parenting? Better get over yourselves and communicate. Have a sitter? You know dang well if you went to her house so that one 'i totally forgot that I had baby with me and forgot to.drop her off' sounds like bs to me. Out of routine? Then be extra cautious. I am sorry, but this seems MORE common with the warnings than it used to be in the past. I don't get it. These stories aren't enough to.shake up parents and make them think? No, ofc not bc they're SELF ABSORBED. No one 'forgets' they have a kid.