A 16-month-old South Carolina girl died after her mother forgot to take her to daycare, leaving the child in a vehicle for more than eight hours where temperatures topped 100 degrees, according to the local coroner.
A person walking in the parking lot of Bishop England High School on Daniel Island noticed a toddler in a car seat in the backseat of a blue Subaru SUV and called the Charleston Police Department (CPD) at around 4:00 PM ET on Friday. ) told local media.
The girl was supposed to be dropped off at daycare between 7:30 and 8 a.m. but was left behind in the vehicle because her mom went to work at a private school for more than 8 hours as temperatures outside climbed to 93 degrees by late afternoon, they said. authorities.
A witness reportedly broke a window to rescue the baby from the hot vehicle, but Berkeley County EMS, a local dispatch, pronounced the child dead at the scene WPDE reports.
The sun sets behind power lines amid a heat wave on July 18, 2023. A 16-month-old girl died after her mother forgot to take her to daycare, leaving the child in a vehicle for about eight hours where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty
Preliminary findings indicate high heat caused the 16-month-old girl’s death, Berkeley County Coroner Darnell Hartwell said during a news conference Friday night. Details about the mother and child have not been released.
Newsweek reached out by email Saturday night to Hartwell and CPD for comment.
An autopsy is scheduled for the Medical University of South Carolina as investigators work to determine exactly how hot the interior of the vehicle was Friday, Hartwell said.
“I’m definitely convinced it was in the triple digits in that car at peak,” Hartwell said, adding that the toddler could only have survived a few minutes in the car at those temperatures.
The coroner said he believes the child’s death was an accident and does not expect charges to be filed, WPDE reports.
“Unfortunately, this is a tragic accident at this time,” Hartwell said. “I can’t go back and second-guess this mother, but again, it’s just a tragic accident. We just need to slow down, pay a little more attention.”
This is an active investigation, CPD said, adding that the South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement is also investigating the 16-month-old’s death.
School officials at the private Catholic high school, located less than 25 miles from Charleston, canceled a scheduled Friday night football game against First Baptist. All classes in the high school have been canceled for Monday, and instead a mass will be celebrated for members of the school community.
Bishop England High School President Patrick Finneran sent a statement obtained by a local station WCSCto the parents who informed them about the incident.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the tragic loss of an employee’s child,” the statement reads. “We ask that you keep this family and our school community in your prayers during this unspeakably difficult time.”
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