A 50-year-old woman has been charged after allegedly leaving a young child alone in a hot car for several hours on Thursday.

The child, a three-year-old boy, was found in a car in Etobicoke on Thursday afternoon. He was taken to a Trillium Health Partners hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.

Zeljna Kosovac appeared in court on Friday and was charged with criminal negligence causing death. She was released on $5,000 bail.

Police tell CityNews that Kosovac, a mother of two, was supposed to pick the child up and drop him off at a nearby daycare before picking him up at the end of the day.

It’s not yet clear why the boy was left alone in the car.

A neighbour described Kosovac, who was emotionless in court on Friday, as a caring mother.

Zeljna Kosovac accused of leaving child in hot car to die leaves court on $5k bail release , ordered to stay away from family, not be w kids pic.twitter.com/xql9GkAz9s — marianne boucher (@CityCourtsTO) September 22, 2017

The boy was discovered in a car behind an apartment building on Mill Road, near Burnhamthorpe, at around 1 p.m.

The vehicle’s windows were smashed and a child car seat was sitting on the sidewalk.

Police say Kosovac lived at the apartment complex where the car was parked. Mourning residents have set up a small vigil in the parking lot.