According to the San Antonio Police Department, a 5-year-old boy in Texas died after being left in a hot car by his mother, who “fully” believed the child was at day care.
The 22-year-old mother typically drops her 5-year-old son off at Pinnacle Kids’ Academy in San Antonio before heading to work, which is “right next door,” according to police.
But on Wednesday, she went to work at 8 a.m., “fully” believing that the child was at day care, leaving the 5-year-old in the back seat of the vehicle, according to officials.
When the mother finished work around 4:30 p.m., she drove to the day care to pick up her son, but staff informed her that she had not dropped him off, according to police.
“That is when she realized he had left him in the vehicle,” police said in a statement.
The mother returned to her vehicle and “noticed he was still in his car seat and unresponsive,” police said.
Paramedics arrived on the scene and “made notification that he died,” according to police.
Homicide supervisors and detectives arrived at the scene, and officials are investigating whether the death was accidental or criminal.
As of Thursday, no arrests had been made, and the investigation was still ongoing, officials said.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus described the incident as a “extremely tragic situation” and stated to reporters that the boy’s family is “quite distraught.”
“This serves as a tragic reminder — check the backseat and don’t leave children or pets in the vehicle here in South Texas,” McManus told reporters on Wednesday.
Police have not released the identities of the mother or child.
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.
Click here for top car safety tips to remember this summer.
