A child was found dead after being left in a car in 30C heat for several hours, police say.
The youngster, whose age and gender have not been made public, was abandoned in the parked vehicle at a petrol station today.
It also happened near a busy train station.
A member of the public spotted the child alone and alerted authorities in Lindenwold, New Jersey.
Police officers broke into the car and, though resuscitation efforts were made, medics were unable to save the child.
Temperatures in Lindenwold, a small town near Philadelphia and the east coast of US, soared to around 30C today.
Now the Delaware River Port Authority Police Department and Camden County Prosecutor’s Office have launched a joint investigation into the death.
It is unclear at this stage if the owner of the car has been traced and, if so, if he or she is assisting in the probe.
In the UK, a parent was recently blasted after leaving their toddler alone in a car in 25C heat .
The 18-month-old boy was heard crying inside the locked Nissan X-Trail in an Essex car park by a worried passerby.
Firefighters had to smash their way into the car in Saffron Walden, Essex, to rescue the youngster.
"It was unbelievable. We were all enjoying a day out and suddenly they announced this crying little boy had been left inside a hot car.
"We could see the car park from where we were and everyone looked over to see paramedics outside the car, frantically trying to get in," one witness said.
