A 3-year-old girl died after being left in a hot car in Anaheim along with her mother during a prolonged heat wave that has sent temperatures into triple digits.
Officers responded to the 1300 block of Fashion Lane around 4:30 p.m. on 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 tried to provide first aid, Sgt. Matt Sutter with the Anaheim police said.
It was around 104 degrees outside when officers responded to the call, according to Sutter. Temperatures inside a car on a hot day, even with the windows cracked, can rise 20 to 40 degrees higher than the outside temperature within minutes, according to the National Weather Service.
Officers tried to provide CPR to the girl while the mother was unconscious in the white Ford Expedition. Both were taken to the hospital, but the girl died.
The girl, whose identity had not been released as of Monday morning, appears to have died from complications due to a heat stroke, but the official cause of death has yet to be determined, Sutter said. An autopsy is expected to confirm the cause and time of death.
The mother, whose identity also had 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.
