A family in Georgia has been plunged into tragedy after an 11-month boy died after being left in a hot car by his grandparents.
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said the boy’s grandparents were baby-sitting on Saturday while the mother, who works a night shift, slept at home.
Mr Wilson said that grandparents Kyle and Meta Hendershot took baby Jaxon Taylor to church in Chickamauga along with another one of their adult daughters and another grandchild.
Walker County infant dies after being left in hot car for more than two hours: The Walker County Sheriff’s Off... http://t.co/MZGs8vLTeQ
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When they returned home, they forgot about the toddler in the car. By then the temperatures had soared to more than 90F, according to CNN.
“In those conditions, the temperature in a closed vehicle can reach as high as 131 to 172 degrees in as little as 15 minutes,” said Mr Wilson.
It was only when the mother, Mandie, a nurse, woke up and asked about her son that the grandparents realised the boy was still in the car. The family called an ambulance but the boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.
No charges have been filed, but the death is being investigated by the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, according to Mr Wilson.
The Department of Meteorology & Climate Science at San Jose State University in California said the toddler was the 19th child to die in the United States in 2015 because of being left inside a hot car.
Widespread attention was brought to the issue in 2014 after a Georgia father spent an entire day at the office while his nearly 2-year-old son was still strapped inside his car seat. Justin Ross Harris has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of 22-month-old Cooper Harris.
