Daijiworld Media Network – Texas
Texas, Jul 4: In a deeply disturbing incident, a 9-year-old girl in Texas died after being left alone in a hot car for eight hours while her mother worked a full shift at a nearby manufacturing plant. The tragedy occurred in Galena Park on Tuesday, where daytime temperatures soared to 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36°C).
The 36-year-old mother left her daughter in the backseat of a Toyota Camry with some water and partially rolled-down windows before proceeding to her job. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed that the woman returned around 2 pm to find her daughter unresponsive. The child was rushed to a local hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
"There’s never an excuse to leave a child unattended," Sheriff Gonzalez said, expressing sorrow over the girl’s preventable death. "A 9-year-old beautiful little girl has lost her life by no fault of her own."
Authorities are still investigating why the mother left her child in the car. While she was initially detained, she was released the following day pending autopsy results and further investigation. Sheriff Gonzalez acknowledged the possibility that the mother may have been under economic stress but emphasized, "It’s not worth it to put a child at risk like this, for any particular reason."
The case is being treated as highly unusual since most hot car deaths are accidental and involve much younger children. Texas law prohibits leaving children unattended in vehicles, and this marks the third such death in the state in just four days. Nationwide, at least 13 children have died in hot cars this year.
Officials continue to urge parents and caregivers to never leave children alone in vehicles, regardless of the circumstances.