Infant dies after being in hot car for 9 hours in Puyallup
May 30, 2023, 11:51 AM | Updated: 1:57 pm
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
A 1-year-old child died last week after being left in a parked car outside of a Puyallup hospital for over nine hours, according to Puyallup police.
Apparently, a hospital worker accidentally left her one-year-old inside her car as she went to work on Thursday afternoon. Authorities said once her shift ended and she got back to her car, she realized the child had been in there all day. According to police, the car’s internal temperature was close to 110 degrees even though temperatures outside were only approximately 70 degrees.
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The child was rushed inside the hospital, but couldn’t be revived, according to the Puyallup Police Department.
The incident marks the fourth pediatric vehicular heatstroke death this year, according to CNN, which claimed an average of 38 children under the age of 15 die in hot cars in the U.S. every year, most during the summer months. In 2018 and 2019, a record 53 children died each year from being left in a hot car.
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The foster mother and family are currently cooperating with the investigation. No charges have been filed.