Two children have died within 24 hours of each other after being left in cars in the hot Texas sun.
A 9-month-old baby was found dead on Wednesday after being left in a car for nearly eight hours, Police said. The incident occurred in Beeville, Texas, some 100 miles southeast of San Antonio.
Beeville Police Department said in a statement on Facebook that the initial investigation points to a temperature-related death.
The baby’s grandmother found the child unresponsive in her car at approximately 4 p.m., police said.
According to detectives, the grandmother had left the child in the rear seat of her car in a child safety seat at around 8:30 a.m.
“The incident is being worked as a criminal homicide,” police said. “No charges have been filed in connection to this case at this time, but such charges are expected to be filed.”
The death of the baby comes just a day after a 22-month-old toddler was found dead in another presumed hot car incident in coastal Corpus Christi, some 150 miles southeast of San Antionio.
The toddler was administered CPR and transported to a local hospital, but was later pronounced dead.
In an statement, the Corpus Christi Police Department announced that the toddler’s mother had been placed under arrest. 33-year-old Hilda Ann Adame was charged with Injury to a child/ serious bodily injury and Abandon/Endanger child/imminent bodily injury, police said.
According to Kids and Car Safety, which has been tracking car accidents involving children since 1990, vehicle accidents are the number one killer of children in the United States—including hot car deaths.
“The majority of parents and caregivers are misinformed and would like to believe that a hot car tragedy will never happen to them,” according to Kids and Car Safety.
“It can happen to anyone,” the organization warns.
“Every nine days, a child in the United States dies from vehicular heatstroke,” said Kids and Car Safety President Janette Fennell in a report. “They are tragic accidents that devastate families.”
According to the organization, in over half of hot car deaths, the person responsible for the child unknowingly left the child in the vehicle.
“Our report reveals that the most common scenario involves a loving, caring parent or caregiver who simply forgets a child in the car,” Fennel said.
“Understanding the who, what, when, and why these tragedies occur is crucial for prevention.”
Between 1990 and 2023 in the United States, 1,083 children—or 33 deaths per year on average—died from heatstroke after having been left inside a vehicle, while at least another 7,500 survived with varying degrees of injury. Texas leads the nation in such fatalities, followed by Florida, California, Arizona, and Louisiana, data from the organization shows.