Toddler Found In Hot Car Dies
June 23, 2005

SEATTLE - A toddler who was hospitalized after trapping himself in a hot car during Monday's warm weather has died, the King County Medical Examiner's office confirmed Thursday.

Austin Blair's father found him unconscious and suffering from heat stroke just after 4 p.m., about 45 minutes after the 2-year-old boy wandered outside.

The man had been inside taking care of four children and didn't immediately realize that Austin had left their Maple Valley house. Investigators said the boy liked to go on car rides and likely got in the car, but was unable to let himself out.

Temperatures inside the car rose to over 100 degrees.

Austin's father tried to cool the boy by placing him in a bathtub, but when medics arrived his body temperature was still over 104 degrees. He was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Seattle.

The King County Sheriff's Office is investigating, but a spokesman said Monday that it appeared to be a tragic accident.