A 5-year-old boy died in a hot car outside a San Antonio, Texas, daycare on Wednesday, July 9.
The child's 22-year-old mother told San Antonio Police that she usually takes her son to the Pinnacle Kids' Academy in San Antonio and then heads to work, which she said is "right next door," as reported by ABC News.
Daycare Staff Told the Mother She Never Dropped Off the Child, That's When She Realized She Left Him in the Car
On Wednesday, July 9, around 8 a.m., the mother, who has not been identified, went to work and "fully" believed her son was at the daycare. However, when she returned to the daycare around 4:30p.m. to pick him up, the staff told her she had never dropped him off.
"That is when she realized he left him in the vehicle," San Antonio Police said in a statement. Once the mother returned to her vehicle, she noticed her son "was still in his car seat and unresponsive," police said. Paramedics responded to the scene and "made notification that he died."
Homicide supervisors and detectives also arrived to the scene. Officials are investigating the incident to determine whether or not the death was accidental or criminal. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing as of Thursday, July 10.
Fourth Hot Car Death of a Child in Two Weeks in Texas
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said that the boy's family is "quite distraught" and the incident was an "extremely tragic situation." "This serves as a tragic reminder -- check the backseat and don't leave children or pets in the vehicle here in South Texas," McManus said.
The 5-year-old boy is the fourth child to die in a hot car in the past two weeks. On Tuesday, July 1, a 9-year-old girl died after she was left inside a vehicle when her mother went to work at 6 a.m. Authorities were called to the Galena Park, Texas, parking lot around 2:15 p.m., according KPRC-TV. The victim's mother was detained at the scene.
Days before, on Saturday, June 28, a 3-month-old boy was found dead in a locked car, after his father, Ricardo Adrian Mata, 34, forgot his infant son was in the backseat of the car. The Mission, Texas, man, who was drinking at the time of the incident, is now facing a charge of injury to a child causing death, per NBC 23.
The day before, a woman, Karen Silva, 36, was charged with injury to a child causing death after a 4-year-old boy, Logan Urbina, was found unresponsive in a daycare van in Brownsville, Texas.
