Dozens of children die every year after being left in a hot car – but there are easy ways to make sure your family is protected. Here’s how to protect your child from vehicular heatstroke.
An infant girl died after after she was found inside a parked car in New Jersey, law enforcement said, during one of the hottest days of the summer.
Officers from East Hanover were called to a parking lot near South Ridgedale Avenue and Route 10 around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday after a child was inside a parked car, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said. Paramedics at the scene treated the 6-month-old girl found in the car.
The girl was rushed to a hospital, where she died. Her mother was also taken to a hospital for treatment.
What led up to the infant being found inside the car was not immediately clear, but a preliminary investigation found that the child had been left alone in the car prior to her death. It was not clear how long she had been in the car, however.
A cause and manner of death has not yet been determined. The incident remains under investigation by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, East Hanover police and the county sheriff's office.
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Anyone with information in connection to the incident is asked to call the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-6200, or the East Hanover Police Department at 973-887-0432.
It comes after a string of similar incidents in New York and New Jersey throughout the week — which started off with four days where high temperatures reached the low to mid 90s.
According to the Monticello Police Department, officers responded to a 911 call of a child in cardiac arrest inside a vehicle located outside Sleepy Hollow Apartment Complex around 6:45 p.m. Monday. Emergency crews weren't able to revive the child, who was pronounced dead at the scene by the Sullivan County coroner.
It was not immediately clear just how long the child had been left in the vehicle. The New York State Police is leading the investigation. There was no word on a possible suspect or suspects, nor was there additional detail on the circumstances.
A similar tragedy unfolded in New Jersey earlier in the day. In that case, an 8-week-old girl died. Her father was charged.
Another child in New York was locked inside the family's car on one of the hottest days of the year on Tuesday, police said. Police in Clarkstown got a call about a boy who had been locked in a vehicle at the wholesaler on Overlook Boulevard in Nanuet after 2 p.m., according to law enforcement. Officers who arrived at the scene found the father who said his son was locked inside.
One of the officers could see the child in the back seat and, without knowing how long the child had been stuck in the car, broke the vehicle's window to get him out, police said. The boy was alert and conscious when he was taken out of the vehicle, and was taken to Montefiore Nyack Hospital for further evaluation. He was expected to recover.
An investigation found that the dad had gone back to his vehicle to get his wallet, and put his kid in the back seat as he searched the trunk. Clarkstown Police said the father closed the trunk, and quickly realized he had locked his son inside.
The dad frantically tried to get into the car, but that failed, so he ran to get help.
The child had been in the vehicle for about 15 minutes before being rescued, police said. Highs reached 98 degrees Tuesday afternoon, and temperatures inside a car can rise by 20 degrees in just 10 minutes — so racing to get the child out was key to saving his life.
Police said no criminality was suspected in connection with the incident.
