5-year-old forgotten in hot car dies outside home with mom inside, Texas cops say

A 5-year-old boy left inside a hot car for hours died on Monday, June 20, as his mom was inside the family’s home, Texas cops say.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the boy’s mother thought her son had exited the vehicle, but he was left inside it as outside temperatures exceeded 100 degrees.

The mother had returned home with her children, ages 5 and 8, and began making preparations for the oldest child’s birthday party, Gonzalez said.

Two to three hours later, she could not find her son. Gonzalez said she ran outside and found the boy was in the safety seat of the vehicle.

The sheriff said the boy knew how to unbuckle himself, but the vehicle he was in was a loaner.

First responders found the boy dead at the scene. An investigation is ongoing, and Gonzalez did not say if the mother could be charged.

Temperatures in Houston reached 102 degrees on Monday, the second consecutive day with triple-digit heat, according to data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

More than half of hot car deaths happen because a child is forgotten in a vehicle, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

“Most people don’t realize that the majority of the increase in temperature inside of a car happens within the first 10 minutes,” Amber Rollins with Kids and Car Safety told KHOU. “Their little bodies heat up 3 to 5 times faster than an adult.”

Since 1998, 136 children have died in Texas from heatstroke in vehicles, according to the National Safety Council. No other state has more than 100 such deaths during that period.

This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 6:51 AM with the headline "5-year-old forgotten in hot car dies outside home with mom inside, Texas cops say."