Infant dies in Beeville after being left in car for more than 7 hours
A day after a child was found dead in Corpus Christi after being left in a hot car, a second child died Wednesday in the neighboring city of Beeville after being left in a vehicle in the heat.
Beeville Police detectives responded to a 911 call late Wednesday afternoon regarding the apparent temperature-related death of a nine-month-old infant, according to a post published on the police Facebook page Wednesday evening.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the child’s grandmother left the child in the car seat in her car around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. When the grandmother went to the car at 4 p.m., she found the child unconscious, the post said.
The incident is being treated as a homicide, the post said.
As of Thursday morning, no charges have been filed in the case, but they are expected to happen soon.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers are assisting Beeville Police with the ongoing investigation.
The infant’s death on Wednesday is the third death of a child in an overheated car in Texas this year, according to Kids and Car Safety. At least 158 children have died in overheated cars in Texas since 1991, making the state the nation’s top-ranked state in the number of child deaths in overheated cars.
Even responsible parents and guardians can unknowingly leave children in the back seat. The organization’s founders remind them to open the rear car door after parking the vehicle and, following the motto “check before you lock,” make sure they haven’t forgotten their child.
More: Woman arrested on suspicion of leaving child in hot car outside Corpus Christi middle school
