(LOS ANGELES) — A mother is facing charges after her 3-year-old daughter died from being left in a hot car as extreme heat grips Southern California, authorities said.
Around 4:20 p.m. Friday, police and fire crews responded to reports of a 3-year-old girl and her mother, Sandra Hernandez, who were both unconscious, Anaheim police said.
A family member had found the mother and daughter locked in a Ford Expedition, and it was unclear how long they’d been inside the parked car, police said.
The 3-year-old was later pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. Her “preliminary cause of death [was] suspected to be complications from heat stroke, though the official autopsy report is still pending,” police said in a statement on Monday.
The temperature reached a scorching 113 degrees in Anaheim on Friday. The temperature was about 104 degrees when the mother and daughter were discovered, police said.
Hernandez, 41, was interviewed at the hospital, and after she was medically cleared, she was arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter and felony child neglect, police said.
Several empty bottles of alcohol were found inside the car, police said.
The investigation is ongoing, police added.
At least 31 children have died in hot cars in the U.S. so far this year, according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org.
At least 1,116 children have died in hot cars since 1990, the organization said.
Click here for what you need to know to prevent hot car deaths.
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