A five-year-old boy has died after being left inside a car for ‘several hours’ in 37°C temperatures.
Police rushed to the scene in Harris County, in Texas, on Monday afternoon where the child was pronounced dead.
Earlier that day, his mum had returned to their home with him and his eight-year-old sister after running errands for a birthday party.
As she and her daughter went inside, she mistakenly left the little boy inside the car, it has been claimed.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales told: ‘They were in full excitement with the business of getting everything ready.
‘They exited the car and went inside the house to continue preparations. The mum went inside with the other sibling.
‘After a couple – maybe two or three – hours the mum noticed that her five-year-old was nowhere to be found, so she began calling for him but there was no answer.
‘She frantically ran outside and discovered him still buckled to his car seat, still in place.’
Investigators also said the child knew how to get out of the vehicle on his own.
But Sheriff Gonzales speculated that he could have been asleep and gotten disorientated because of the heat and confirmed the child had died after being left for ‘several hours’.
In an earlier statement on Twitter, he said: ‘Precinct 3 units were dispatched to the 13700 blk of Blair Hill Ln. Upon arrival units determined a child (possibly five-years-old) was left inside a vehicle for several hours.
‘The child was pronounced deceased at the scene. HCSO Investigators are enroute to the scene.’
The case will now be reviewed by the district attorney’s office even though it appears an accident.
It is unclear yet if his mum will be facing charges.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Harris County police for comment.
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