HOUSTON – A 3-month-old boy died after being left in a hot car in Houston on Tuesday.
Houston Police said the infant’s mother visited the Harris Center, a mental health and development disability clinic with her 4-year -old child. She walked back to her car around 3:25 p.m. and found her son in the hot car.
Police said the mother, who has not been identified, ran back into the facility with the baby to get help.
“Under no circumstances should you leave a child in a car. Not even for a moment. Don’t think the AC’s going to work out fine, or the window — if you roll down the window,” said Houston Police Assistant Chief Yasar Bashir.
Police said they are still working to determine how long the boy was left in the car, whether or not the windows were left down and if the baby was left in the car intentionally.
“From time to time we have incidents like this, which should never happen. Especially during summertime, you should never leave your child unattended. There should be zero child deaths in the city,” Bashir said.
During a press conference Tuesday, Bashir said the infant was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead a short time later.
Weather in Houston reached an official high temperature of 102 degrees on Tuesday, weather records show.
He noted that the child’s mother was being very cooperative with the investigation and that the father was not at the scene at the time of the incident.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests the following to prevent hot car deaths:
- Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time. Rolling windows down or parking in the shade does little to change the interior temperature of the vehicle.
- Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle — especially the back seat — before locking the doors and walking away.
- Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected.
- Place a personal item like a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger’s seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.
- Store car keys out of a child’s reach and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area.
- Always lock your car doors, year-round, so children can’t get into unattended vehicles.
If you see a child alone in a locked car, act immediately and call 911. A child in distress due to heat should be removed from the vehicle as quickly as possible and rapidly cooled.