A 3-year-old girl has died after being abandoned in a hot car in Anaheim along with her mother during a prolonged heat wave that has pushed temperatures into triple digits.
Officers responded to the 1300 block of Fashion Lane around 4:30 p.m. Friday for reports of a medical emergency, the Anaheim Police Department said. A family member called 911 after they found the mother, who was unconscious, and her daughter in the vehicle and attempted to provide first aid, Anaheim Police Sgt. Matt Sutter said.
According to Sutter, when officers responded to the call, the temperature was about 40 degrees Celsius. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature inside a car on a hot day, even with the windows down, can increase 20 to 40 degrees from the outside temperature in a matter of minutes.
Officers attempted CPR on the child while the mother lay unconscious in the white Ford Expedition. Both were taken to the hospital, but the child died.
The girl, whose identity had not been released as of Monday morning, appears to have died from complications resulting from heat stroke, but the official cause of death has not yet been determined, Sutter said. An autopsy is expected to confirm the cause and time of death.
The mother, whose identity had also not been released as of Monday morning, remains in the hospital and is conscious, Sutter said. Authorities have not announced whether she will be charged in connection with her daughter's death.
