A 2-year-old girl died after being left in a car for several hours in Montgomery County, Maryland, police said Friday.

Police in Montgomery County, Maryland, are investigating the death of a 2-year-old girl who had been left inside a car, officials said Friday.

Officers and paramedics were called to a residence the Wheaton-Glenmont area of the county about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

“Upon arrival, first responders located the toddler, who had been in the car for several hours,” officials said in a statement. “She was transported to an area hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.”

The child’s body was taken to Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy. It was unclear Friday whether any charges would be filed.

“This remains an active investigation,” said police spokeswoman Shiera Goff, who added that “the case is not being investigated as a homicide.”

Police radio traffic recorded on the archiving service OpenMHz.com suggested a wife called 911 and reported that her husband left the child inside the car.

Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said that in general people underestimate how quickly car interiors can heat up even when it’s cool outside. “It can be very deceiving,” he said.

Depending on factors such as sunlight and window angles, Piringer said, even when it is in the 60s or 70s, car interiors can rise past 80 degrees within 10 minutes. The temperature can eventually top 100 degrees.

On top of that, he said, the body temperature of babies can rise three to five times more rapidly than that of adults. “It’s a situation that can quickly become dangerous even on relatively cool days,” he said.

Parents also should be mindful of cold winter days and not leave a child in a heated car in the sunlight.

“We tell people they should never leave an unattended child in a car,” Piringer said.
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