A three-year-old Utah boy died after being left alone in a hot car outside his home, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
On Monday at around 6:11 p.m., officials received a 911 call from someone screaming, after which the caller hung up on authorities, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office on Wednesday.
Authorities eventually gathered information and determined that “a child was injured” outside an apartment complex in Veyo, Utah, and dispatched medical personnel, officials said.
When medical personnel arrived at the scene, they discovered the 3-year-old, who was unresponsive, according to officials. When authorities arrived, someone on the scene was performing CPR on the child, according to Northwest Fire Special Services District Chief Charles Guthrie of Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX.
Emergency medical crews pronounced the toddler dead on the scene “in conjunction with an on-call doctor,” according to officials.
During their initial investigation, authorities discovered that the child was “left unattended in the vehicle after a shopping trip with family,” officials stated.
The investigation is still ongoing, and no arrests or charges have been filed, a Washington County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told ABC News on Thursday.
“The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is saddened that this tragic incident occurred and extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends and community this has affected,” the agency said in a statement.
The child’s identity has not been released.
“It has a significant impact. It’s heartbreaking to lose a child like that. “You know, mistakes happen, but losing a child in that way is extremely difficult,” Guthrie told KTVX.
Temperatures at St. George Regional Airport, about 33 miles from Veyo, Utah, reached 102 degrees on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
According to Kids and Car Safety, an organization dedicated to “saving the lives of children and pets in and around vehicles,” nearly 40 children die in hot cars in the United States each year, or roughly one every nine days.
