August 13, 2002

LEFT TO DIE IN BACK SEAT TO SUCCUMB TO BRUTAL HEAT
By MARK ANGELES angelem@phillynews.com

St. Cloud Times September 27, 2001

BABY DIES AFTER BEING LEFT IN CAR

SAUK RAPIDS -- An 11-month-old Sartell boy died Tuesday after being left alone inside a vehicle at Mississippi Heights Middle School, where his mother is a special education teacher.

Stephanie Loesch found her son, Jacob, unresponsive in his car seat as she was leaving school for the day.

Police wouldn't say how long Jacob had been in the vehicle or how long Stephanie Loesch had been at the school Tuesday. But a letter to students from Principal Bonnie Strobbe said Loesch found Jacob "strapped into his car seat, where he had apparently been for some time."

School staff tried to resuscitate the baby before emergency medical crews arrived, said Sauk Rapids-Rice Superintendent Greg Vandal.

The boy was in distress when police arrived at about 3:55 p.m., said Police Chief Curt Gullickson, and officers also tried CPR to revive him.

Jacob was taken by ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy was performed Wednesday at the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office, and a preliminary cause of death was sent to Gullickson. He declined to release that information Wednesday and wouldn't confirm the identity of the child or his parents.

Gullickson declined to answer several questions about what led to Tuesday's tragedy at the school, saying his department was in the middle of an ongoing investigation that, once completed, will be sent to Benton County Attorney Robert Raupp for review.

"We don't have a lot of facts, so to speculate and (make a) conjecture is not what I'm going to do," Gullickson said.

Attempts to reach family members Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Loesch has taught at Mississippi Heights since fall 1999, Vandal said. Extra counselors and social workers were on hand Wednesday at Mississippi Heights to help staff members and students deal with the tragedy, Vandal said. He cautioned against speculating about what happened.

"I do know that terrible things can happen to good people. This is a tragedy," Vandal said. "I cannot imagine good people putting their lives back together after something like this."

School staff members were called and told about the death Tuesday night. Strobbe told students about the death Wednesday morning and sent notes to parents about it.

"It is a very sad accident," Strobbe said.

Strobbe met with school staff Wednesday morning to discuss the death.

"They are tired, sad and vulnerable and are taking care of each other," Strobbe said.

The school hired substitutes for teachers and other staff who needed the extra support or who needed a break from their work to process the situation, Strobbe said.

In an announcement Wednesday morning, Strobbe told students about the death.

"She challenged the kids to take care of the staff. She said this is an opportunity for students to take care of the staff who normally take care of them," Vandal said.

Raupp will review the investigation for consideration of possible criminal charges.

"Obviously there is a tragedy of a child deceased, and there is an investigation ongoing," Raupp said. "We'd rather not comment until the investigation is complete."

In late July, an Anoka County grand jury indicted a 38-year-old man on a charges of second-degree manslaughter-child endangerment after he left his 4-month-old-son alone in his car seat in a Blaine parking lot for nearly eight hours. Kevin Daley told police he thought the child had been dropped off at day care, a part of his daily routine.

Gullickson didn't say how long Jacob Loesch had been in his mother's vehicle. There didn't appear to any obvious signs of trauma to the child, Raupp said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether heat or dehydration might have been a factor in the baby's death.

Everyone he's talked to has strong emotions about the boy's death, Gullickson said.

"Anytime a child is injured or killed or dies, there is a sense of sadness for everyone," he said. "The bad part is that this stuff happens all the time around the country, and you might never hear about it. Unfortunately, this happened right here in our city."

"Certainly what we do know is that a beautiful, young child has died and an inconceivable grief has resulted," Strobbe said in her letter to students and their parents. "The Loesch family and everyone at Mississippi Heights appreciates your support and cooperation at this time.

Associated Press August 6, 2001

BOY DIES AFTER BEING LEFT IN CAR

LAMAR, Mo. (AP) -- A 3-year-old boy died after being left in a car for about an hour while his parents were in church.

Joel T. Kinsey, of Jasper, died of hypothermia Sunday, Jasper County Coroner Ron Mosbaugh said. The boy's body temperature was 108.6 when he reached the Joplin hospital where he was pronounced dead, Mosbaugh said.

Joel's dad, Kevin Kinsey, is in charge of music for Cornerstone Southern Baptist Church in Lamar. He was supposed to open the church doors at 1:30 p.m., but was 15 minutes late, Mosbaugh said.

``They were just so preoccupied with what was going on in the church,'' Mosbaugh said. ``They didn't think about the baby. ... They had the key to open the church, and they were in a hurry to get it open.''

Mosbaugh said Kevin Kinsey was in the church for about an hour before he looked for his son and found him in the car.

Los Angeles Times August 5, 2001

TWO YOUNG SIMI VALLEY BROTHERS DIE AFTER BEING LEFT IN MINIVAN

Two young brothers were found dead in their family's minivan Saturday evening, about four hours after their mother left them strapped in their car seats outside their home, police said.

Police found the bodies of Jake Alexander Heath, 3, and Dylan Charles Heath, 1, in a bedroom of their Ralston Avenue home, where their mother, Marlene Heath, had carried them in an attempt to revive them, said Simi Valley police Lt. Jon Ainsworth.

"This is just absolutely tragic," said Lt. Mike Brewer.

The deaths appear to be heat-related, Ainsworth said, but the cause will not be determined until the coroner's office performs autopsies scheduled for Sunday.

Temperatures reached 87 degrees in this city about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, but were much higher in the minivan, which had the windows rolled up.

Heath, 39, who was detained by police for questioning, told officers she and her children were on their way to a picnic in Ventura when she changed her mind and returned home at about 2:30 p.m.

She told police she entered the home, leaving the boys strapped to their car seats, then fell asleep for three to four hours, Ainsworth said.

When Heath woke up, she found her children unconscious in the van, then carried them into the house and tried to revive them, Ainsworth said.

Heath called her husband at work. Phillip Heath, 43, then called police.

IndyStar.com August 5, 2001

TODDLER SUCCUMBS TO HEAT AFTER BEING TRAPPED IN CAR

3-year-old boy dies after he and sister, 2, climb into vehicle while father naps in house.

At just 3 years old, Steven Wittenmyer Jr. was able to open the door to his family's 1994 Pontiac Grand Am all by himself -- a skill that is believed to have cost the toddler his life Saturday.

While his father lay napping, investigators said, Steven and his 2-year-old sister, Alexis, managed to climb into the sweltering car outside their Southwestside home sometime after 1:30 p.m.

The vehicle became a death trap when the child-safety locks engaged.

After waking, the elder Wittenmyer found Steven and Alexis locked inside the back of the sedan, where temperatures exceeded the already blistering 90-degree weather outside.

Marion County Sheriff's Detective Lt. Steve Gibbs said the siblings may have been in the car for more than an hour.

The girl survived the ordeal and is listed in good condition in Wishard Memorial Hospital, where she was being treated for dehydration.

Officials said the boy succumbed inside the vehicle, likely due to heatstroke. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

A plastic dump truck and a few Legos remained in the grass next to the rear door of the car, toys the children had presumably been playing with.

"We are dealing with what at this point appears to be a real tragedy," said Gibbs. According to police, Steven Wittenmyer Sr. found the two children in the back seat of the car shortly after 3 p.m. He later told investigators he thought his children had been sleeping inside their home in the 6300 block of South Cradle River Drive.

A neighbor told investigators he had seen the children playing in the front yard of their home about 1:30 p.m.

Wittenmyer had returned home around 6 a.m. Saturday after a night of riverboat gambling with a family friend. The children's mother, Sondra Wittenmyer, had left for work sometime after her husband returned home.

When Steven Wittenmyer awoke, he realized the children were no longer in the house. That's when he found his son unconscious in the back seat of the car, Gibbs said.

Once the investigation is completed, Gibbs said, authorities will decide whether charges should be filed.

As word of the tragedy spread through the subdivision, neighbors gathered to share sentiments of alarm and sorrow over the child's death.

"This is devastating to us because we have kids of our own," said Nikki Smith, 31. "It's very, very sad."

Another neighbor, 38-year-old Darren Thomas, described the Wittenmyers as "nice people who have just experienced a tragedy."

Police officials and children's advocates alike said incidents such as the toddler's death Saturday should serve as a reminder for parents to make sure they know where their children are at all times.

Michele Struttman, of the organization Kids 'N Cars, said the number of deaths and injuries of children who were left unsupervised with vehicles this year is alarming -- 47, with 23 of those heat-related. In 2000, there were 61 deaths in the United States, 31 of them heat-related.

Kids 'N Cars is a nonprofit organization that tracks deaths and injuries of children due to lack of supervision around vehicles. Struttman's 2-year-old son was killed in 1998 after unsupervised children knocked a running van into gear.

"It seems there are a couple of different scenarios that contribute to this problem," Struttman said. "The child is forgotten; people don't realize how quickly cars heat up in the summer. The car virtually acts as a greenhouse."

KMBC TV News 9 August 3, 2001

CHILD LEFT IN CAR; MOTHER ARRESTED

KANSAS CITY, Kan., 7:04 a.m. CDT August 3, 2001 -- Police took a 24-year-old Kansas City, Kan., mother into custody Thursday after her baby was left unattended in a car, KMBC's Jeremy Hubbard reported.

Hubbard said that a guest at the American Inn located near Interstate 70 and 78th Street heard the child's cries for help.

"It was blood red, just screaming, and its whole head was soaking wet. I don't know how long it had been in there," Shane Arnold said.

Arnold discovered the baby while walking through the hotel parking lot. He heard the screams of a child coming from a car.

He looked in the back seat of the car and found a 13-month-old child.

"I was mad. It was just aggravating. It really is," Arnold said.

The window was down, so Arnold reached in, unbuckled the car seat and grabbed Isaac .

He brought the baby inside the hotel lobby, called the police and cooled the baby down.

A maintenance worker said he had heard the child crying for about a half-hour, and it was apparently another half-hour before the child's mother showed up to claim her baby.

Not long after that, she was taken to jail for felony child endangerment.

Peter Stauch, the boy's father, said he had been in a fight with his wife. She showed up at the hotel to talk to him, but he said she didn't bring the child inside with her.

"I said, 'Well, go ahead get him,' and when she went out to get him, he was gone," Stauch said.

Stauch said that incident wasn't the first time Isaac or his siblings have been left alone.

"I have asked Shannon not to leave the kids in the car. I had to convince her to drive them out to my mother's house in Gardner just so they weren't sleeping in the car," he said.

Isaac was taken away by police into protective custody.

Police said Isaac was a little sunburned, but he was not seriously harmed.

The child's mother could be charged as early as Friday, Hubbard reported.

Los Angeles Times July 28, 2001

GIRL LEFT IN HOT, LOCKED CAR; MOTHER ARRESTED

Sheriff's deputies arrested a Lancaster woman who allegedly left her 16-month-old daughter in a locked car in which temperatures rose to 130 degrees Friday, authorities said.

Tamika Wheeler, 22, was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment at 12:30 p.m. after returning to her car, which was in an Albertson's parking lot at 20th Street West and Avenue K. She is being held on $50,000 bail.

Her dehydrated child was rescued after 30 minutes in the locked sedan, and was hospitalized. She was reported in good condition Friday evening. The temperature in Lancaster Friday was 105 degrees.

WoonsocketCall.com July 26, 2001

FATHER ARRESTED AFTER LEAVING HIS KIDS IN HOT CAR

WOONSOCKET -- Two small children were taken to Landmark Medical Center yesterday morning with elevated body temperatures after their father left them in the car, baking in the hot sun, while he went into the A.J. Wright discount clothing store looking for a layaway refund.

William A. Moulton, 37, of 56 Summit St., was arrested when he came out of the 1500 Diamond Hill Road store at about 9:44 a.m., police said.

Police charged him with one count of child neglect as the state Department for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) took temporary custody of his children, Nathan, 1, and Rienne, 2. Police said DCYF put a "48-hour hold" on the children while the agency starts an investigation. Moulton was released on personal recognizance following an initial appearance in Family Court, Providence, yesterday afternoon.

It was 90 degrees yesterday morning when a Millville woman pulled her car alongside a blue Ford sedan in the parking lot of A.J. Wright with the two children sitting inside and no adults in sight. Concerned for the welfare of the children, the woman, police said, waited for at least two minutes to see whether anyone showed up to take care of the children. When no one did, she called 911.

Patrolman Adrien Robidoux said he discovered all of the windows on Moulton's car closed except one, which was rolled down about 2 inches. Luckily, Robidoux said, he found one of the doors unlocked. He felt a wave of hot air knock him in the face when he opened it. Both children were in child restraint seats, the younger of the two with his face toward the back of the car.

"I checked on the children," Robidoux reported. "They were very warm and crying.

"When Robidoux arrived, Moulton was still nowhere in sight, the patrolman said. After about four minutes, Moulton emerged from the store. The Millville woman said she'd been there at least 10 minutes by then.Robidoux, in his report, said Moulton seemed to understand what he had done, but "it appeared to me that it didn't bother him at all or there wasn't anything wrong with it," he said.

The children were taken to Landmark Medical Center, where Nathan's body temperature was 100.5 degrees F. and Rienne's, 99.8. Police said the children were released from Landmark Medical Center after they cooled down a bit and doctors made sure they weren't suffering from dehydration or heat exhaustion.

Detective Marc Dubois, who was also summoned to the A.J. Wright store, said that even though it was 90 degrees when the children were discovered, the weather service said the heat index, or how hot it felt, was 93.9 degrees -- one of the hottest mornings of the summer.

Moulton gave police a statement saying he went into A.J. Wright seeking a cash refund by canceling a layaway. Moulton told police he eventually figured out that the effort was fruitless because his wife had already canceled the layaway. Moulton said he left the children in the car because he was in a hurry and thought the toddlers would slow him down in the store.

When a detective asked him why he didn't leave the store once he realized his errand was taking longer than he expected, Moulton said, "I figured it would be that much longer" if he had to go out and get the kids.

During the investigation, police interviewed an A.J. Wright clerk who remembered Moulton standing in line inside the store. It was possible he was in the store longer than 10 minutes, Moulton told police.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch July 24, 2001

TODDLER LEFT IN HOT CAR FOR TWO HOURS DIES

A 19-month-old girl, left unattended by her father in a Jeep Cherokee for two hours in front of the family's mobile home in Bowling Green, Mo., died Monday of what authorities believe are heat-related symptoms.

Authorities said the father left the girl inside his car with her three sisters while he talked to a neighbor. The father carried an armful of groceries inside his home and told the older girls to bring the baby inside. He then lay down for a nap.

Two hours later, he awoke, realized the girl was missing and found her, still in the stifling car.

He called 911.

Paramedics rushed the child, who had no pulse, to Pike County Memorial Hospital in Louisiana, Mo., where Dr. Gene Smith, an emergency room physician, tried unsuccessfully to revive her, authorities said Tuesday.

Neighbors identified the victim as Marquita M. Shade and the father as Joe Shade.

The victim's family had no comment.

Bowling Green Police Chief Pete Cannon said the heat index was 107 about 5 p.m. when authorities got the 911 call from the toddler's father.

"It doesn't look like any foul play. It doesn't look like he intended to do it," Cannon said. "He was obviously very distraught over the situation. It is a tragedy. It could have been prevented."

Cannon said the death will be investigated by his department, the Pike County Sheriff's Department and the Missouri Division of Family Services.

Mark Fisher, the Pike County prosecuting attorney, said he would impanel the county's Child Fatality Review Team to look at the death, then interview family members and review autopsy results before making a decision on prosecution.

The review team - set up in every Missouri county after a series of Post-Dispatch stories in 1991 about child deaths - consists of the prosecutor, a county juvenile officer, police, social workers, paramedics and medical personnel.

Cannon gave this account:

Shade, 24, had taken his red-haired toddler and the three other girls, ages 7, 9 and 11, to the grocery on a five-minute errand. Upon the family's return to their North 15th Street address, the father was getting out of the car when he was distracted by a neighbor, who wanted to talk to him about dental work.

The father, who had the diaper bag, then asked the older girls to take the diaper bag and the 19-month-old into the trailer while he talked to the neighbor.

Thinking his children were all safely inside, Shade stretched out on the couch and took a nap. Two hours later, he realized the youngest girl was missing and found her still strapped in the child seat in the back of the Jeep.

The children's mother, 30, was at work. The three older girls were her children; the 19-month-old was theirs.

"The father is beating himself up," Cannon said. "He really can't believe this happened. This guy is going to be persecuted the rest of his life by the community. He is already persecuting himself."

Cannon said the other girls were hysterical when he got to the mobile home park. The doors of the Jeep were open when he got there, the chief said, so he was unable to get a relevant temperature reading inside the vehicle.

The St. Louis County Medical Examiner's office was scheduled to perform an autopsy on the victim Tuesday. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Bowling Green is about 85 miles northwest of St. Louis.

In another heat-related case with a different ending, the temperature inside a hot car in downtown St. Louis on July 10 was 127.58 degrees when a passer-by, Louise Lillard, saw a red-faced boy and rescued him. After persuading him to unlock the car, Lillard got water and ice in a towel from a nearby business.

The grandmother of the boy, Linda Hinkle, 52, and the boyfriend of the boy's mother, Craig Robinson, 29, both of Lemay, have been charged with child endangerment, a felony. They told police that they had left the boy in the car at 14th and Olive streets so they could attend a court proceeding.

The Mercury News July 24, 2001

BABY DIES IN SAN JOSE AFTER DAD LEAVES HIM IN HOT CAR

An infant boy died Tuesday afternoon after spending two hours in a car where he had been left by his father, who was visiting a family member in South San Jose.

Five-month-old Kyle Patrick Gilbert was pronounced dead at Kaiser-Santa Teresa hospital shortly after 3:10 p.m., where he was rushed after his father called police and medical technicians to the home at 4503 Poinsettia Court.

The father's identity was not released Tuesday night. Police questioned the man but said he was not under arrest. He could face charges ranging from child neglect to manslaughter.

Tuesday's high temperature in San Jose was 86 degrees. In a car parked in the sun with the windows rolled up, temperatures can reach 120 degrees within 10 to 15 minutes, said Dr. Gregory Schmunk, Santa Clara County coroner and chief medical examiner.

Even a half hour after emergency medical treatment, the boy's core temperature remained a blistering 107 degrees.

``You just can't do this. It's very dangerous,'' Schmunk said. he car was a Nissan sedan, parked on the street of the cul-de-sac in the middle-class neighborhood. The street is quiet, with few pedestrians or passing traffic. A neighbor said he noticed nothing unusual.

Police said the father drove the child to visit his brother-in-law. They arrived at the home around 1 p.m. When the father emerged around 3 p.m., he discovered the child in the car seat, not breathing and with no pulse. `We don't know if he forgot or why the child was left in the car,'' said San Jose police spokesman Sgt. Steve Dixon.

The father called fire, police and medical technicians, while attempting to resuscitate the child inside the home. Paramedics attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, put the child on ice and rushed him to the hospital.

In August 1999, 2-year-old Luis Fernando Pineda Valdovinos of San Jose died after he somehow got into a relative's Mercury Topaz and suffered a fatal case of heatstroke.

Last summer, 5-month-old Kaitlyn Russell of Riverside County died in a car seat after being forgotten while the temperature topped 100 degrees. Less than a week after Kaitlyn's death, a 4-month-old boy died in the desert town of Needles, having been left in the car by his father after a day trip to the Colorado River, authorities said.

Authorities say such tragedies could be easily prevented. There are two basic ways of avoiding them: Don't ever leave your children unattended and don't ever leave your car doors unlocked.

During some summers more than 30 children -- one every four days -- die after being left in sweltering cars, said the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. Yet a survey by the campaign found that one in 10 parents thought it was OK to leave a young child in a car alone.

Out of the 178 cases of heat-related deaths of children in automobiles since 1980 that have been documented by Kids 'N Cars, a San Francisco-based safety advocacy organization, 29 involved children who died after their fathers left them in cars. In other cases, both parents were involved. Of cases in which children died of heat-related causes in unattended vehicles in the last two decades, more than half of were 1 or younger.

Studies by the Louisiana State Medical Society in 1995 found that on a day when the outside air temperature was 93 degrees, the temperature inside a parked car rose to about 125 degrees after 20 minutes and stabilized at 138 degrees after 40 minutes.

Eleven states have laws making it illegal to leave young children unattended in cars.

Legislation introduced by state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, which has passed the Senate and is being considered in the Assembly, would give California one of the toughest laws in the nation aimed at such tragedies.

Under the proposed measure, a parent or guardian who leaves an unsupervised young child in a risky situation could face a $100 fine and gain a point on his or her driving record.

California law allows prosecutors to charge adults who leave children in cars with crimes ranging from child endangerment to murder.

Associated Press July 22, 2001

DAD ARRESTED FOR LEAVING SON IN VAN

SHREVEPORT (AP) -- A man accused of leaving his 13 month old son alone inside a sweltering minivan at Harrah's Casino was jailed on a felony charge.

Joel Mesa, 23, of Bossier City. was arrested after someone spotted the toddler strapped in a car seat in the back of the van about noon Sunday, police said. Outside temperatures at the time were in the mid 90s.

The child was sweaty but not seriously ill when pulled from the van on the third floor of Harrah's parking garage by casino emergency medical personnel. Ice was used to cool the child.

Casino security officers called police, who booked Mesa into Shreveport City Jail. Mesa told police he had a gambling problem, police reports showed.

The child was released to his mother, who was advised to take the boy to a doctor for evaluation.

Police believe the child was left in the van for about 45 minutes. The cruelty charge against Joel Mesa is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and 10 years in prison.

Dallas Morning News July 12, 2001

BOY DIES AFTER CLIMBING IN VEHICLE

Plano 3-year-old trapped in heat for 20 minutes, police estimate

PLANO A 3-year-old Plano boy died Wednesday afternoon after getting into his family's parked sport utility vehicle as the temperature outside neared 100 degrees, police said.

Cory Clark was playing in the 3900 block of Los Robles Drive when he managed to get into the Chevrolet Suburban, said Officer Carl Duke, spokesman for the Plano Police Department. Police said it was not clear how the boy got into the vehicle.

Police estimate Cory was trapped for 20 minutes. Family members began searching for the boy and found him in the vehicle, police said.

"It's a terrible tragedy," Officer Duke said. "It's hard to imagine what the parents are going through. You just have to be very careful with the heat we have in Texas. If you are going to park your car, make sure it's locked. We just have to be very, very careful."

Fire officials arrived first at the family's home and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Police followed about 3:25 p.m. Cory was taken to Medical Center of Plano, where he died, police said.

Officer Duke said police are still investigating the case but don't expect to file charges against the boy's parents, Coy and Anisa Clark, ages 30 and 28, respectively. It wasn't clear who was home at the time of the accident, police said.

A person at the family's home late Wednesday said the family declined to comment. Child Protective Services officials will conduct an investigation into the boy's death, as is common practice, said CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner. She said Wednesday night that she didn't know whether the Clarks had a history with CPS.

Neighbors, who described the parents as attentive, said the family has two other sons and a daughter.

The high temperature Wednesday was 97 degrees. In a parked vehicle with no ventilation, the temperature can reach up to 150 degrees, said Joe Harris, a meteorologist with the Fort Worth office of the National Weather Service.

Chris Uecker, 19, lives across the alley from the Clark family and was outside playing with his dog minutes before the police arrived. He said he didn't notice anything unusual.

"I wish ... [Cory] would have honked the horn. I would have let ... [him] out. It's bad business," Mr. Uecker said.

He said he often saw the parents sitting in lawn chairs in the garage watching their children play in the back yard, which has a trampoline, swing set and a slide.

Another neighbor, Linda Duffy, said: "They're a very nice young family. It's shocking. They're good parents. They're good Christians. This is not something you would expect to happen."

She said that the boy's siblings told her that they had been playing in the house and had gone outside to get a video game shortly before the accident occurred.

Janette Fennell, executive director of Kids 'n Cars, said that children climbing into parked cars is a major concern and dangerous.

"The truth is, it's a huge problem," she said. "People think it's cute when kids get in cars and pretend they're driving, but they should look at them like the biggest guns in the world." Ms. Fennell's organization, a San Francisco-based nonprofit group with a mission of increased safety and prevention of nontraffic automobile fatalities, is putting together a database of deaths and injuries, and lobbying state legislatures and Congress.

She said that cars attract children, who want to emulate their parents, and that technological advances have increased the likelihood of automobile deaths. Key chains allow car doors and trunks to be opened with the push of a button; power windows can cause children to be strangled; and tinted windows prevent passers-by from seeing children trapped in cars.

Children under age 10 do not have fully developed heat regulatory systems, so they may not even realize they are hot until it's too late, Ms. Fennell said. Two other North Texas children have died in hot cars this year.

Last month, a 23-month-old Dallas boy died after he was left in the family's sport utility vehicle for about two hours on a hot afternoon. Michel Borg Jr., who had Down syndrome and a heart condition, was left behind when the family went inside to nap after returning from a swimming party. The high temperature that day was 93.

In March, 5-month-old Ethan Fletcher died while strapped in his car seat in his mother's car as she worked at the Cheesecake Factory near NorthPark Center. Carisa Fletcher told police that she thought she had dropped off her son at day care before going to work. Temperatures in Dallas that day reached 73.

Ms. Fletcher was charged with reckless injury to a child with serious bodily harm, but a Dallas County grand jury declined to indict her on the charge.

Pioneer Press July 11, 2001

INFANT LEFT IN VAN

A 4-month-old baby boy died Tuesday alone and strapped into a car seat as the hot July sun beat down through the windows of the family minivan at a Blaine office building where his father was working. The child may have been in the closed Ford Windstar for several hours on the blistering blacktop parking lot as midday temperatures soared into the upper 80s, police said. "We believe for an extended period of time," said Blaine Police Chief Dave Johnson.

The boy's father was questioned by police but has not been charged with a crime. "He's not in custody," Johnson said. "He's answering questions and cooperating fully."

The names of the father and son were not released. The father works at a mortgage company at Village Bank Financial Center, 9298 Central Ave. N.E., in Blaine.

David Kuntz, a Shoreview lawyer who works in the building, spotted the child when he pulled his sport utility vehicle next to the minivan in the parking lot about 3:30 p.m. The child was strapped in a car seat behind the driver's seat, and the sun was beating down on the baby's face, Kuntz said. All the windows were closed. "The baby did not appear to be moving," Kuntz said.

Kuntz called 911 on his cell phone while a friend tried the rear door, found it unlocked and scrambled inside to unlock the side door to the minivan. Kuntz said it was very hot inside the van and he was worried because the child didn't seem to be breathing, so he pulled the child out of the car seat. As he held the baby, Kuntz realized the child was dead.

"The baby was stiff and not moving," he said.

By that time, police had arrived from the station less than a football field's distance from the parking lot. One officer told Kuntz to lay the child down on a blanket in the rear area of the van. "It was obvious to all of us the baby was deceased," Kuntz said.

There was no attempt at resuscitation. "They had the tanks, the oxygen, but it was very clear there was no resuscitating the baby," Kuntz said. The father arrived about then, Kuntz recalled. "I saw him put his hands up on his head," Kuntz said. "All I remember him saying was, "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!'" An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, and Johnson said results of the investigation will be presented to the Anoka County attorney for a decision on possible criminal charges.

The death comes a day after a St. Paul woman, Kimberly May Olsen, 21, was charged with child endangerment for leaving her two children, including an infant, alone in a hot car outside a Roseville shopping center Saturday. In that case, the front windows had been rolled down about 8 inches.

The Star Tribune July 10, 2001

MOTHER CHARGED WITH LEAVING KIDS IN HOT CAR

A St. Paul woman who left her two young girls in a locked car Saturday while she was in a Roseville music store was charged Monday with child endangerment, a gross misdemeanor.

Kimberly M. Olsen, 21, remained in the Ramsey County jail Monday night in lieu of $3,000 bail.

A store owner at the Lexington Plaza strip mall at Lexington and Larpenteur Avs. called 911 about 3:30 p.m. Saturday after a woman came in the store and said two children were inside a locked car, screaming.

Passersby had opened the car and gotten the children out by the time police and paramedics arrived. A criminal complaint said a 10-month-old girl who had been in the car was sweating profusely and had a bright red face.

A 2-year-old girl taken out of the car had been screaming and also was deep red, according to the complaint. The car's front windows were rolled down about 8 inches, but it was hotter inside the car than outside, where the temperature was 89 degrees, the complaint said.

Olsen told police that she had planned on being in the music store only a few minutes, but that she was inside longer than she had expected.

The Press-Enterprise July 3, 2001

DESERT HOT SPRINGS TODDLER FOUND DEAD IN PARKED VEHICLE

TRAGEDY: Officials cite a family miscommunication. "We're just overwhelmed," the girl's father said.

For the second time in less than a week, a small child has died inside a vehicle parked in the Inland area's harsh summer heat.

Authorities will conduct an autopsy to determine if the second death was caused by elevated heat inside the vehicle, parked in desert temperatures that reached 115 degrees.

Sunday, 22-month-old Mia Parham of Desert Hot Springs was found dead after apparently being inside a vehicle for more than three hours following a family miscommunication, authorities said.

Mia's parents, Anthony Parham, 32, and Katrina Parham, 26, were devastated by Mia's death.

"We're just overwhelmed," Anthony Parham said Monday. Katrina Parham was too upset to talk.

A Riverside County coroner's report said Katrina Parham was preparing about 1:30 p.m. to take her nieces back home after an overnight stay and Mia apparently got into one of two vehicles parked in the driveway. But the mother asked another daughter to put the nieces in the second vehicle.

Katrina Parham returned home about 3:15 p.m. At about 4:45 p.m., a daughter went to look for some nail polish in one of the vehicles and discovered Mia, unresponsive, the coroner's report said. The parents called 911 but paramedics could not resuscitate the toddler.

On Friday, 3-year-old Maryah Ponce succumbed to the sweltering heat in Rialto after foster mother Linda Montano forgot to take the girl out of a sport utility vehicle for 20 minutes, authorities said. As in Maryah's death, authorities in Mia's case said they would await autopsy results before deciding about possible prosecution.

Maryah's autopsy was conducted Monday but the San Bernardino County coroner's office said further test results, which could take months, were needed before a definite cause could be attributed.

Mia's autopsy had not been scheduled as of Monday afternoon, Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Mark Lohman said.

"We don't know yet if this resulted from the heat or a previous medical condition," Desert Hot Springs Police Chief Paul Stotesbury said.

Grieving family members gathered Monday at the Parhams' home on Tamar Drive. Mia's step-grandfather, Deno A. Lightfoot, 31, of Banning, said her death was an accident.

"This is a nightmare that no one could imagine," Lightfoot said. "It's important to know there was no negligence in this. As far as I'm concerned, what happened was pure accident."

Nevertheless, Lightfoot suggested that other parents could learn from Mia's death.

"If there's a lesson to be learned in all this, it's you gotta keep up with your kids," Lightfoot said. "Because no matter how young, they're smart enough to get away from you. It's just a tragic, tragic accident that nobody wanted or expected."

Mia was precious to all her relatives, Lightfoot said.

"She is a missing piece of everyone's heart, in this house and my house," Lightfoot said, weeping softly.

Mia was the youngest of six children, Lightfoot said.

Meanwhile, the biological family of Maryah Ponce continued to struggle with questions over their daughter's death. Maryah was placed with a Rialto foster family registered through Canyon Acres, a state-licensed foster agency, said Michael Riley, director of children and family services in Orange County.

Maryah's two other siblings were also being cared for in the same home, and have been removed and are now staying at Orangewood Children's Home in Orange County, Riley said.

Riley said he couldn't comment directly on the case while investigations into Maryah's death were pending.

Last summer, two children died within less than a week of each other after being left inside vehicles in the summer's heat.

On Aug. 19, Steve Ray Thomas of Needles forgot to take his infant son, Kevin, out of his car following a trip to the Colorado River. He was not charged in the death.

Temperatures outside Thomas' car were estimated at 115 degrees.

Four days earlier, 6-month-old Kaitlyn Russell of Corona was left alone in a van for several hours by her baby sitter. Outside temperatures reached 100 degrees, causing the baby to die of hyperthermia in less than half an hour, authorities said. Temperatures inside the vehicle reached an estimated 130 degrees.

The baby sitter, Suzie Calderon of Corona, was ordered to stand trial on manslaughter and child abuse charges during an April preliminary hearing in Riverside County Superior Court.

Kaitlyn's mother, Tammy Russell, has since devoted much of her life to spreading the word about the dangers of leaving small children in cars. She says education is the key.

"I don't think people are aware how quick temperatures in the interior of a car can rise, even if the windows are cracked," said Russell, who added that criminal charges are rarely filed in cases where the victim's parents are at fault. San Bernardino County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Vic Stull said that's likely because prosecutors feel the parents have suffered enough.

"They balance punishment with the degree they (the parent) have already been punished by the death of their child."

abc7.com June 27, 2001

CHILDREN FOUND LOCKED INSIDE A LOCKED VAN

The 21-year old mother could face child endangerment charges.

Police and a camera crew were waiting today as a 21- year-old mother of two returned to her locked van to be confronted about a sweat-drenched infant and toddler she left inside in the hot sun.

An off-duty officer from the Rampart Division had called police and paramedics after spotting a 7-week-old infant and an 18-month-old toddler in a green minivan in the 18500 block of Nordhoff Street about 11:40 a.m., said Los Angeles police Officer Jason Lee.

He was about to smash the van's windows open when the mother returned from her grocery shopping, Lee said, and was confronted by two concerned officers, one of whom demanded that she get the van open.

The young woman said, "Oh, my God," as she looked into the van and began to cry as a police officer lectured her.

"It's hot in the car," the officer said. "Didn't you know that! Did you not think about that? How'd you like to be sitting up in the car with no air conditioning?"

The children were taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where they were listed in stable condition, Lee said.

Police speculated that the children had been inside the van for about 30 minutes. A rear pop-open window allowed the off-duty officer to poke a small cup of water through the narrow space so the older of the children could get a drink before the mother arrived.

She was expected to be booked for child endangerment, Lee said, and the children were taken into protective custody.

Greeley Daily Tribune June 23, 2001

WINDOW BROKEN TO RESCUE TRAPPED INFANT

Greeley police officer broke the window of a locked car Friday afternoon to retrieve an infant trapped in the hot vehicle.

The 10-month-old infant, whose gender was unknown Friday afternoon, was taken to North Colorado Medical Center as a precaution, Greeley police Sgt. John Gates said. Gates said the baby was sweating profusely when the officer took it from the car, but otherwise seemed to be OK.

The mother of the infant had accidentally locked the car keys and the baby inside her 2000 Dodge Neon when she ran inside an insurance office in the 1000 block of 34th Avenue, Gates said. She discovered the car was locked when she came outside about 3:05 p.m.

The mother, whose name was not released, immediately called the police for help.

The arriving officer called for a tow truck to help open the car, but the temperature inside the vehicle was well above the 90-degree heat outside it.

There simply was no time to wait, Gates said. He had to do what was best for the child s welfare.

The officer broke a car window, with permission from the mother.

It was fortunate we were able to get the child out when we did, Gates said. Gates said it was possible but unlikely that charges will be filed against the mother, but investigators are evaluating the situation. It will probably depend on how long the mother was in the insurance office, which will measure how long the mother intended to leave the child in the hot car, he said.

Las Vegas Sun June 29, 2001

BABY DIES AFTER BEING LEFT IN CAR

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A 6-month-old baby died Friday after his parents forgot about him in the family car, authorities said.

It was the second such area death in the past five weeks.

Police said the baby's parents work together in an office building in southeast Las Vegas. The parents, whose names were not released, told police they usually take the baby to a day-care center first, then drop off their 4-year-old at another day-care center.

But, the parents took their 4-year-old first, then went to work, forgetting the baby strapped in his car seat in the back of the car, police said.

Temperatures reached more than 100 degrees Friday.

The mother called the day-care center to check on her baby and realized what had happened when she was told the baby was not there.

Paramedics tried to revive the boy, but it was too late.

The case is under investigation.

Nine-month-old Dallas Nelson of North Las Vegas died May 24 after his family forgot him in a parked van in 100-plus degree heat. The child's parents were not charged.

Los Angeles Times June 29, 2001

WOMAN WHO ALLEGEDLY LEFT KIDS IN CAR HELD

A Northridge woman remained in a Van Nuys jail Thursday after being arrested on suspicion of child endangerment when an off-duty police officer noticed her children sweating in her parked van while she was grocery shopping, the Los Angeles police said.

The officer was walking through the Vons parking lot in the 18500 block of Nordhoff Street at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday when he saw the children, ages 7 weeks and 1 1/2 years.

The mother, Subha Sadaf, 21, was arrested when she returned to the car. The children were taken to the hospital, examined and released to their father. Sadaf's bail is set at $50,000.

The high temperature in Northridge Wednesday was 86 degrees.

The Associated Press June 14, 2001

TODDLER DIES AFTER BEING LEFT IN A CAR

BAXTER SPRINGS (AP) -- A 14-month-old Oklahoma boy has died after apparently being left in a car at a baseball field near Baxter Springs. The Cherokee County Sheriff''s Department is investigating the death which occurred Saturday afternoon but declined to release details Sunday. Jasper County, Mo., Coroner Ron Mosbaugh identified the baby as Brooks Walden, of Claremore, Okla., and said he may have been left in the car for up to two hours. He said the boy was dead on arrival St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo. Baxter Springs Police Chief David Edmondson, who was watching an American Legion baseball game at the park Saturday afternoon, said he saw the child 's parents in the parking lot and called for an ambulance. Mosbaugh said the infant's body was released to the Shawnee County medical examiner's office in Topeka.

The Eagle.com June 12, 2001

CHILD LEFT IN CAR DIES

College Station police are investigating the death of a 22-month-old girl who was left in her parents car for nearly three hours Monday as temperatures hovered in the lower 90s.

Police said it appears a miscommunication between the child s father and six other children led to Callie Sue Quinn being left in the car after the family returned home from dinner.

The child was found by her mother, Cindy Quinn, in the family s 1995 Ford Taurus just before 8 p.m., said Lt. Dan Jones, spokesman for the College Station Police Department. The child had been in the car since shortly before 5 p.m.

Cindy Quinn, who had not accompanied her family to dinner, looked for her daughter when she arrived home, Jones said. When the child could not be found in the house, she ran to the car and found her daughter. She then called 911.

Jones said emergency personal responded at 7:53 p.m. to a report of an unconscious person in the 2500 block of Raintree Drive. When rescuers arrived, they found the 22-month-old dead.

Something like this, it s just a sad, sad situation anyway you look at it, Jones said.

The high temperature recorded at Easterwood Airport on Monday reached 94 degrees. Investigators declined to released the temperature of the body when she was found, Jones said.

[The car] was parked in the shade ..., Jones said. [But] it doesn t take long.

The child s body was sent to the Travis County Medical Examiner s Office for an autopsy. Jones said Dan Quinn had taken his children, who ranged in age from 22 months to 15 years to dinner and returned home. Quinn told police he thought one of his children would take Callie Sue into the house.

The children thought their father had removed the child, Jones said, noting that it wasn t unusual for the older children to care for their sister. When the mother arrived home and inquired about the child, Jones said, they got to looking ... and found the child in the car.

Investigators planned to continue interviewing the family Monday night, Jones said. Preliminary autopsy results were expected Tuesday.

Dr. Dan Ransom, a physician with Scott & White, said it only takes a few minutes for a car to reach temperatures higher than 100 degrees, especially during the middle of the day.

It is directly proportionate to how hot it is outside, he said. Typically what happens is kids not only can get cold more easily, [they] also get hot more quickly. They don t handle heat quite so well.

Ransom said that when a body gets too hot, the central nervous system shuts down and a person will go to sleep.

He said the younger the child, the harder it is to handle heat. Michael Petty, a Bryan firefighter and paramedic, said each summer the department receives calls from parents who have accidentally locked their children in cars.

Most times the cars are left running, and the children are retrieved safely. On the rare occasion, however, it proves fatal.

Ransom reminded parents of how dangerous summer s scorching temperatures in general can be on children.

It s not only in cars, but having them out in sun for extended periods of time, he said. They don t know to ask for fluids, and they don t know they are getting overheated. Callie Sue was the third small child to die in Brazos County in the past nine years after being left in a vehicle. Each occurred in June.

The parents of a 4-month-old who died last year and a 3-month-old who died in 1992 were no-billed by a grand jury that reviewed the evidence in the case. The panels in both cases decided no criminal charges should be filed since each were accidents.

District Attorney Bill Turner said Monday that the case will be reviewed just as the others and will probably be taken to a grand jury.

Associated Press June 8, 2001

INFANT DIES AFTER BEING LEFT IN MINIVAN

Paducah, KY(AP)-A 10-month-old girl died after she was left in a minivan in the driveway of her house, authorities said.

The girl was found unresponsive about 3:20 p.m. CDT Thursday by her mother, said McCracken Chief Deputy Sheriff Terry Long. Paramedics were unable to revive her and took her to Lourdes hospital, where she was pronounced dead about 4 p.m., Long said.

McCracken County coroner Danny Sims performed an autopsy Friday and determined the cause of death was hyperthermia, or overheating.

Authorities were trying to determine how long the infant was in the minivan. According to the National Weather Service office in Louisville, the high temperature Thursday in Paducah was 83 degrees, which occurred at 3:08 p.m.

The girl had a twin brother and two older brothers, Sims said.

Long would not say who left the infant in the minivan, but said no charges have been filed.