Dallas police: Child dies after being left in hot car

Sebastian Robertson | WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth

Show Caption Hide Caption Police: Toddler dies in hot car while parents nap Dallas police are investigating the death of a two-year-old child allegedly left alone in a hot car. The parents say after parking outside the home, they went inside and took a nap, not realizing their daughter was still in the car.

DALLAS — Police are investigating the death of a 2-year-old child who was allegedly left in a hot car after her family returned from an outing.

According to Child Abuse Unit investigators, the child's parents said they returned home from a family outing to Fair Park with their children Friday afternoon and went inside to take a nap.

"(The girl's) parents stated that they believed all children had exited the vehicle when they returned home," police spokeswoman Senior Cpl. Melinda Gutierrez said in a written statement.

The child's father said he later went outside to work on his car and found her strapped in a child safety seat.

"He immediately removed the child from the vehicle and took her inside, where he called 911 as the mother performed CPR for approximately 30 minutes," Gutierrez said.

The police spokeswoman said the mother then drove the child to Children's Medical Center hospital, where the girl was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.

The National Weather Service said the high temperature at Love Field in Dallas reached 98 degrees Friday afternoon. On average, 38 children die each year from heat-related deaths after being trapped in vehicles, according to KidsandCars.org.

Child Protective Services has been alerted, but no charges have been filed, police said.