6-month-old dies after being left in hot car for 7 hours, cops say. Neighbor arrested
A 6-month-old died after he was left inside a hot car outside his home for nearly seven hours, Arizona deputies say.
The baby’s mother asked her juvenile neighbor, whose age was not specified, “for a ride into Prescott Valley” from her Cordes Lake home the afternoon of Tuesday, July 30, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in an Aug. 1 Facebook post.
The pair made their way with the baby boy in tow, deputies said.
“On the way back from Prescott Valley the baby fell asleep in the car seat in the back seat of the neighbor’s car,” deputies said.
The mother told the neighbor the baby’s father would be home shortly and to drop off the baby with him, deputies said.
After arriving home at about 2 p.m., the neighbor said they forgot “about the baby in the car,” parked “in the hot sun,” and went into their house, deputies said.
Shortly before 9 p.m., the baby’s father contacted the mother, asking when he should expect the neighbor to arrive with his son, the sheriff’s office said.
As the mother was “still at work,” she called the neighbor, deputies said.
“It was then the neighbor realized that the baby was left in the car,” according to deputies.
The neighbor ran from their home to the baby’s home, where “the father and neighbor pulled the baby out of the car, called 911 and tried CPR,” deputies said.
Deputies and fire officials arrived on scene and confirmed the baby was dead.
The juvenile neighbor was arrested on one count of negligent homicide, deputies said, adding that a criminal investigation is ongoing and that the case will be forwarded to the county attorney’s office.
Cordes Lake is about a 65-mile drive north from Phoenix.
This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 2:02 PM with the headline "6-month-old dies after being left in hot car for 7 hours, cops say. Neighbor arrested."
