SAN ANTONIO – A woman in Kerr County has been charged with child endangerment after she allegedly left her two daughters inside a car for more than 15 hours overnight which resulted in their eventual death, according to a statement released by Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer on Friday.
Amanda Hawkins, 19, has been taken into custody and is in the Bexar County Jail awaiting transfer to Kerr County.
Brynn Hawkins, 1, and Addyson Overgard-Eddy, 2, died Thursday at University Hospital.
According to the release, Hawkins appeared at Peterson Regional Medical Center with the two children, claiming they had collapsed while smelling flowers at Flat Rock Lake.
Investigators concluded however that the children were intentionally left in a vehicle overnight on June 6 until noon on June 7, while Hawkins was in the company of friends. The statement said she did not immediately take the children to the hospital because she "did not want to get into trouble."
RELATED: Local organizations offer tips on preventing hot car deaths
The charges against Hawkins could be upgraded after the findings of the case are presented to a grand jury, Hierholzer said. He said it was "the most horrific case of child endangerment he has ever seen in his 37 years of law enforcement."
Stay with KSAT 12 both online and on-air for more information on this developing story.
--------------------------------------------------------
Don't miss a thing. Get email alerts from KSAT 12 today.
Get alerted to news events as they happen or sign up for a scheduled news headline email that is delivered right to your inbox. Breaking news, severe weather, daily forecasts, entertainment news, all of the day’s important events to keep you up to date wherever you are.
Sign up today. It's Free.