Brother: Raleigh
7-month-old died after being left in hot car
A
Raleigh family is grieving after losing a 7-month-old infant in a hot car.
A sunny day quickly turned to tragedy on Friday afternoon as the Mussa
family returned to their home off Gatcombe Place.
Mom, dad, an aunt
and 13-year-old Bilal Mussa all went inside the home, but Mussa said no one
realized they had forgotten his 7-month-old brother, Hakeem.
“It was
like 90 degrees outside and I had thought my aunt was going to take him
inside from where we had come from, but she thought that I was going to take
him in, but that had never been my responsibility. They usually let adults
do it,” Mussa said.
Four hours later, Mussa said his dad went
searching, only to find the infant was still in the car and not breathing.
They tried CPR and called 911, but it was too late.
“He was my
little brother. I changed him a lot. I carried him. We did a lot of stuff
together, but unfortunately, look what happened,” Mussa said.
What
happened to Mussa’s brother is all too common.
Last year, the
nonprofit Kids and Cars reported that 43 children died across the country
after being left in hot cars.
Mussa said he reached out to WRAL News
with his story because he wants to warn others about the importance of
double checking.
“I was crying a lot because, at this age, I never
thought that I’d have to deal with something like this, but I’ve talked to a
lot of people, a lot of therapists, and they said everything is going to be
OK,” he said.
Authorities have not said if charges will be filed in
connection with the infant’s death.