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SALT LAKE CITY — The death of an 11-month-old Hurricane girl who had been left inside a hot car has stirred a lot of surprising emotions among Utahns over the past couple of days.

Many people are angry, saying they can't believe a mother could forget her child. But others are suggesting parents take a more compassionate view and realize how easily they could find themselves in the same situation.

Skyah Suwyn died Friday afternoon after she was accidentally left in the car by her mother, April Suwyn. It is presumed she died from heat exhaustion.

“I think it happens a lot,” said Nancy Limberg, a Salt Lake City mom. “I think it happens a lot more than people are willing to admit.”

On KSL.com and KSL's Facebook page, users left more than 600 comments about the situation. Some comments showed an outpouring of support, while others were negative and critical of the mother’s mistake.

Three Salt Lake City mothers met with KSL News Sunday to talk about the tragic story. All the moms have children ranging from pre-teens to 6 months old.

“All of us were just talking about how our hearts just go out to this family,” Sara Hoskins said.

Sometimes there are no words to convey emotions about tragic events, the women said, only the notion that someone else’s misfortune could’ve been your own.

Related:

Family devastated after death of baby left in hot car The death of 11-month-old Skyah Suwyn of Hurricane, who died after being left in a hot car, has devastated her family. Friends and family members are asking the community to support the girl's family as they cope with the tragedy.

“We’re all human and we make mistakes,” Britney Reid said. “I think it’s a good reminder too, at the same time, how careful you have to be."

After reading about and discussing baby Skyah and her mother, these Sugar House moms said they only feel compassion.

In fact, Limberg said she accidentally left her toddler in the car for 5 minutes while rushing her other kids to the doctor's office. She's grateful her mistake didn't end tragically.

“I think ... the very vast majority of parents would never do anything to harm (their) child on purpose,” Limberg said

Some of the Facebook and KSL.com commenters said there was no excuse for a mother to forget her child in a car, especially a hot car.

“I know people say there’s no excuse,” Hoskins said, "but it’s hard to put that judgment on someone else when we don't know what else she was going through.”

Julie Hanks, a licensed clinical social worker at Wasatch Family Therapy, said the reason people respond in such a critical way is that "situations like this remind us of our own vulnerability. ... we lash out and criticize as a way to protect ourselves from really seeing that this could be us any different day.”

We live in a society where we need to blame and shame people. There's no blame here. This woman is going to suffer. She doesn't need our help to intensify that. –Julie Hanks, LCSW

It’s easy to place blame, Hanks said, but we should avoid the temptation.

“There is no excuse; and I don't think this mother would have an excuse. It's a tragedy. It's an accident,” she said. “We live in a society where we need to blame and shame people. There’s no blame here. This woman is going to suffer. She doesn't need our help to intensify that.”

Hanks recommended that people turn their emotional energy into something more constructive.

“I think we should be looking at ourselves and how we respond,” Hanks said. "The question isn't, 'What kind of mother is April?' It's, 'What kind of human being am I going to be in response to this situation?'”

As for the Salt Lake City moms KSL News spoke with Sunday, they also had a few recommendations.

“Support her and give her understanding, and let her know that we can see how that can happen,” Limberg said. “She is punishing herself more than we can probably even imagine.”

Parents should also learn from this tragedy and start developing habits that will remind them to take one last look in the backseat before exiting their vehicle.

"Even something as simple as putting your purse in the backseat,” Hoskins suggested. “Always put something in the backseat so you always have to go back there.”

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