A 9-year-old girl died on July 1, 2025, after being left alone for hours in a parked car outside her mother’s workplace in Galena Park, near Houston, Texas.
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the girl’s 36-year-old mother left her inside a white Toyota Camry around 6 a.m. while she went to work at a nearby manufacturing plant.
Authorities said the mother left the car windows partially rolled down and provided her daughter with some water, but failed to make proper childcare arrangements.
TEMPERATURES REACHED 93 DEGREES
By the time the mother returned to the vehicle at approximately 2 p.m., she found her daughter unresponsive. Emergency services were contacted around 2:06 p.m., and the child was rushed to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Temperatures in the area had reached approximately 93F, creating extreme and potentially fatal conditions inside the vehicle.
INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY
A reported by ABC News, Sheriff Gonzalez confirmed that the mother was initially detained but has now been released while the investigation continues.
Detectives are working to establish the exact duration the child was left alone and are waiting for the results of the autopsy to determine the cause of death.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office will decide whether any charges will be filed once all the evidence has been reviewed.
Gonzalez noted that, while many hot car deaths are accidental, this situation is different. “This was entirely preventable,” he said, adding, “We understand that some parents face economic pressures, but there are no justifications for putting a child in harm’s way.”
According to Kids and Car Safety, this marks the third hot car fatality in Texas in just four days and the 13th such incident in the US so far this year. Sheriff Gonzalez urged parents to explore safe childcare options and reiterated that leaving children unattended in vehicles, even for short periods, can have fatal consequences.
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