A woman faces an involuntary manslaughter charge in North Carolina after her child died from being left in a hot car, police said.
The 8-year-old girl was transported to a local hospital after being found in critical condition in a vehicle in Charlotte on Wednesday evening but later died from a heat-related medical emergency, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. The child’s mother was charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse by willful act causing serious injury.
The 36-year-old woman is being held in the Mecklenburg County Jail on a $250,000 bond, jail records show.
The woman told police she left her daughter in the car while she went to work, according to an arrest affidavit. Before she left, she said she kept the air running in the car, but the child may have turned it off because she was cold.
The last time the woman heard from her daughter was via text about an hour and a half before she returned to the car, authorities said. That’s when she discovered the child lying on the backseat floorboard unresponsive.
Using a hammer, police said the woman busted the back window to reach her daughter. She then drove to the hospital but stopped at a nearby business to get help, authorities said. Someone called 911 to report the emergency, police said.
After emergency responders took the child to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, the girl was pronounced dead early Thursday morning.
The woman told police she shouldn’t have left her child in the car and that she knew it was 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 degrees Celsius) outside, according to the affidavit. She was appointed a public defender to represent her, according to court records. Her next scheduled hearing is on July 17.
Every 10 days, a child dies of heat stroke after being left in a car, and a majority of these deaths happen because someone forgets a child in their car, according to National Highway Safety Traffic Safety Administration. More than 1,000 children have died in the last three decades.
(FOX40.COM) – California’s extreme heat temperatures may be dangerous for humans, but they are also problematic for pets too. • Video Above: Most popular pets
Every year hundreds of pets die from heat-related illnesses. Some animal fatalities occur from being left outdoors during heat waves, and others from being left in parked vehicles during times of elevated temperatures.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the temperature inside a vehicle can rise almost 20 degrees in just 10 minutes, and almost 30 degrees in 20 minutes. At one hour, a vehicle’s inside temperature can be more than 40 degrees higher than the outside temperature – even on a 70-degree day.
The National Weather Service of Sacramento advised pet owners to never leave their animals unattended in a vehicle, even with windows cracked. Studies show that rolled-down windows have little effect in preventing heat-related illnesses.
“Your furry friends are impacted by the heat too!” NWS said in a social media post. “Animals can die of a heatstroke within 15 minutes.”
• Breathing quickly or panting louder/heavier than usual. Open-mouthed breathing/panting in cats is not normal and is a sign of being extremely hot, stressed, or sick. • Weakness and/or collapse • Dry or sticky gums • Pale, muddy, or red-colored gums (normal is light pink and moist) • Drooling • Vomiting or diarrhea • Excessively tired, dizzy, or confused • Bruising or bleeding
To prevent heat-related illness and/or death, CDPH advised pet owners to provide their animals with fresh cool water in tip-proof bowl, don’t force them to exercise when it is hot and humid, bring pets inside during periods of extreme heat, ensure pets have plenty of shade, provide protective booties against hot asphalt/concrete, and keep pets well-groomed.
Three years ago, police investigated Tyler Cestia for negligent homicide after he left his 2-and-a-half-year-old son, Thomas, in his truck at work on a hot summer day.
“In my mind, I remember thinking, ‘well, I don’t remember walking in the sitter’s house to drop Thomas off; I don’t remember that,’” said Cestia. “I just said to myself, ‘it can’t be. There’s no way.’”
Cestia said a confluence of circumstances created the perfect storm that June morning. He wasn’t originally supposed to drop off Thomas, and the toddler sat in his brother’s car seat behind the driver — out of sight. Cestia said he was also recovering from COVID, which gave him brain fog, and his mind was preoccupied with an audit at work. Six hours into his workday, he realized he never dropped off his son that morning.
“I ran out to the car to see and, unfortunately, my worst fears were realized,” he said.
His wife Pamela got the call and frantically raced to the office parking lot.
“I kind of didn’t know how fast children could pass in the car,” Pamela said. “So, I drove like a maniac to Tyler’s work and then just saw Thomas, and he was gone. I just broke down after seeing and knowing what happened.”
It was a moment she had trouble processing — a moment she said she couldn’t imagine ever happening to her family.
“I think before this experience, I was a little judgmental on that and thinking that how do people leave their kids in the car and forget their children,” said Pamela. “I think, now, that anybody can leave their kids in the car and forget them. It can be, something else on your mind at the time, a change in routine, that it can happen to anybody.”
Police ruled the death an accident.
Summer heat turns deadly
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns much of the U.S. will see above-average temperatures and dangerous heat this summer. For some children, it has already become deadly.
Last month in South Carolina, a 3-year-old became the first hot car death of the year, after he crawled into the back of a vehicle and got trapped.
A few weeks later in West Virginia, a 3-month-old baby died inside a car after police said it appeared the child was inadvertently left there while the parent was at work.
According to data from advocacy group Kids and Car Safety, on average, 38 children die each year from heatstroke inside a vehicle. Over the last three decades, more than 1,000 children have died in these incidents.
A CBS News data analysis shows 83% of all hot car deaths over the last six years happened between May and September — at least one death each week during the sweltering summer season. It’s not just happening in states with the warmest temperatures. The breakdown reveals a hot car death reported in nearly every state.
“Quite frankly, we’re surprised it doesn’t even happen more often,” said Janette Fennell, co-founder and president of Kids and Car Safety.
Fennell said after the introduction of dual front airbags, parents moved infant car seats to back seats for safety reasons. It was then, she explained, that they began to see the increasing trend of parents forgetting their children in vehicles.
“During that transition, nothing was done to change the way we notify people if children are left alone in vehicles,” she said. “So, it’s a direct correlation of putting the kids in the back seat out of sight, out of mind, and then the number of hot car deaths just keeps going up.”
Over the last few years, companies have created technological advances to help reduce the chances of children being left in cars and dying. Automakers have been working on safety systems that can provide alerts to remind drivers to check for children who may still be in vehicles, or even detect a child left behind.
“We’ve seen a tremendous amount of innovation just in the last few years, following a commitment by automakers in 2019, to integrate these technologies into all new vehicles,” said Hilary Cain, with the auto industry trade group Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
The 2021 infrastructure law included a requirement for all automakers to install an audio and visual rear seat reminder alert in all new passenger vehicles beginning with model year 2025. Most have already done this — voluntarily.
Fennell argues law and the technology don’t go far enough.
“What’s written in the law is sort of just the driver reminder system,” she said. “We’ve been working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and they know that that’s not really an adequate solution. In fact, we as an organization have documented deaths of six children who have died in cars that have just that reminder, so obviously it’s not effective.”
The Cestias had that very technology in their truck when Thomas died.
“The way we thought all along how the technology worked in the truck was based on weight,” said Tyler Cestia. “You know, you have a child in the seat, [from] the weight.”
While some vehicles do have weight sensors, the Cestias’ truck used door logic technology that only warns the driver to check the back seat at the end of a trip if a back door has been opened and closed at the beginning of a trip. Tyler described the alert as the same as the beep that reminds you to put on your seatbelt.
“We had a false sense of security with the rear seat reminder,” said Pamela Cestia.
NHTSA provided written responses to questions from CBS News, which said: “NHTSA is researching technology and solutions that can provide greater safety benefits beyond the mandated minimum, including detection technology for unattended occupants.”
Radar technology
The Cestias are advocating for the administration to require more advanced technology like radar systems that don’t simply issue reminder alerts but detect movement. They can even sense the breathing of a baby.
“So, the difference between this and a typical rear alert reminder… is that this actually detects the presence of life,” explained Tyler Warga, with automotive technology supplier Bosch. “It’s actually doing the displacement in a child’s chest, and so you’re talking millimeters in terms of the type of movement it can detect.”
Some of Hyundai’s Genesis models offer what it calls an advanced rear occupant alert system, which utilizes both a rear seat alert and radar technology. It also sends out warnings to parents even when they’re not in the vehicle.
“If the sensor detects movement within the vehicle, you’re going to have the horn go off and you’re also going to get an alert on your smart app,” said Stephanie Beeman, manager of vehicle safety, compliance and regulatory affairs for Hyundai America Technical Center.
We asked the Alliance for Automotive Innovation why it isn’t committing to the radar technology some experts consider the gold standard for safety.
“The automakers want to provide technologies that best meet the needs of their customers, and so there are a range of options for them to do that, and radar technologies would be one of those options,” Hilary Cain said. “There are a lot of people who purchase vehicles today that do not have children and may not need or want these systems. Since these systems will be standard on all vehicles, there will be a cost, you know, and reflected in the price of the vehicle for the technologies. So, providing a range of technologies may give purchasers who are not interested in the technology, don’t need the technology, a lower price point than otherwise they would have.”
According to government documents, the upgrade to radar would cost car buyers as little as $20.
“The companies are going to go this way,” Cain said. “They’re already going that way. We’re just – you got to give it time for them to do it.”
But Pamela and Tyler Cestia believe if the radar technology had been in their truck three years ago, Thomas would still be alive.
“The gold standard should be met,” said Tyler Cestia. “There’s better technology that’s far superior to the existing technology, and there’s no reason for another parent to go through it.”
Laura Geller is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist. She joined the CBS News and Stations Innovation Lab as a national investigative producer in September of 2023.
A 14-month-old girl died after her grandmother left her unattended in a hot car in New York for eight hours, police said.
The 54-year-old grandmother forgot to drop the toddler off at a day care center in Smithtown on Long Island on Monday and went to work, leaving the girl in a car seat inside a Jeep Cherokee, Suffolk County police said in a news release.
Eight hours later, the grandmother went to pick the girl up at the day care center and realized she had left her in the car, police said.
The child was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The death is under investigation and no criminal charges have been filed.
Monday’s high temperature in Smithtown was 83 degrees Fahrenheit, but temperatures inside a car can reach much higher.
CBS New York reports that the National Safety Council advises sticking to a routine and avoiding distractions. It says to put a purse, briefcase or even your left shoe in the back seat to ensure you take a final look in the car, and to keep car doors locked and keys out of reach from children so that they can’t get inside to play.
“This can happen to anyone. The biggest mistake a parent can make is thinking it can’t happen to them,” Kids and Car Safety VP Sue Auriemma told CBS New York. “There is technology that’s already available and affordable that’s coming standard on some vehicles. Hyundai and Genesis and Kia offer a system that will alert a driver if they’ve walked away from a vehicle and there’s still any living being in the vehicle.”
A toddler died on Monday after police say she was forgotten in a hot car on Long Island for eight hours. @GainerTV has more on the tragic accident in Smithtown and what you can do to try and prevent something like this from happening. https://t.co/5MKFA3KNFp
A 10-month-old child in Florida has died after her babysitter left her in a car while babysitting other children, authorities said Thursday.
Rhonda Jewell, 46, was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, according to a report from the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, after being accused of leaving the infant child unattended in a vehicle that was not running “while outside temperatures were 98 degrees Fahrenheit with temperatures inside the vehicle reaching over 133 degrees for a period of at least 5 hours.”
The incident unfolded around 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday when Jewell picked up the infant from the child’s mother’s home in north Macclenny, a city about 30 miles west of Jacksonville. She then drove to another home in the city where she was babysitting other children.
Upon arriving at the second home, Jewell left the infant in the vehicle. According to the report from the sheriff’s office, Jewell told investigators that she assumed the baby was asleep, so she went inside the home and started interacting with the three other children she was babysitting, planning to get the infant later but “completely” forgetting to do so.
It wasn’t until the child’s mother arrived to pick up her daughter at around 1 p.m. that Jewell realized the child had been forgotten. Deputies found the infant inside the garage lying on the seat of a golf cart and began life saving measures, the report said.
Responding deputies and rescue personnel said the infant’s skin was “very hot to the touch.”
The infant was transported to Fraser Memorial Hospital and pronounced deceased.
Jewell was arrested and held at the Baker County Detention Center. She made her first court appearance on Thursday morning, where her bond was set at $25,000. Jewell had been babysitting the child off and on since June of this year, the report said.
Police asked that people respect the privacy of the child’s family.
“Each of us are given the gift of life every morning we wake up and every evening when we finish our day, we are blessed if our family is safe and healthy,” the Baker County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook. “In the blink of an eye, our world can be turned upside down. Please be mindful of this when trying to understand the tragedy that took place in our small town yesterday.”
