Phoenix toddler dies after being left for hours in hot car

PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) -
Phoenix police say a 2 1/2-year-old boy has died after being left unattended for hours in a hot car at his family's home.

It happened outside the home on Raymond Street, near 75th Avenue and Broadway Road.

Frantic family members called 911 around 4 p.m. Monday when they realized the boy was not in the house, Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump said.

When officers arrived, family members were doing CPR on the boy. The child was pronounced dead at Phoenix Children's Hospital, Crump said.

According to police, the boy's parents had been running errands all day, and there was some confusion among the adults about who was watching the child at any given moment.

"They had run errands a couple of times, and so trying to discern who was actually in the vehicle at the time the child was left in the car," Crump said. "Everybody believed somebody else was watching the child."

A 5-year-old child had also reportedly been in the Nissan Sentra with the family during the day, but that child was not left in the car, and was not injured.

Police said the incident serves as a reminder to always have a plan to check on children who are not able to get out of the car on their own.

"It's a sad reminder of what we're trying to say all the time about leaving children unattended in the car," Crump said.

He said much like families should have a plan to have someone always watching a child around a swimming pool, they should also have someone responsible for watching who gets in and out of a car, especially when the heat begins to climb in the Valley.

Crump said outside temperatures in the 70s are still hot enough to kill a person left in a car, especially a small child.

Detectives believe the toddler was in the car for at least two hours. Monday's high temperature reached 93 degrees.

Crump said police were interviewing the parents, a grandmother and an adult child at the house. He said there were also several other small children at the house.