HOUSTON – A 2-month-old boy has died after being left in a vehicle amid sweltering heat on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Houston Police Department.
The boy’s mother is being questioned by investigators, but no charges have been filed. Any potential charges are dependent on the investigation findings and autopsy results.
Police were called to 5901 Long Drive at 3:25 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. The incident happened in the parking lot of the Harris Center, a mental health and development disability clinic.
The mother arrived at the clinic for a visit sometime after noon. Police said she took her 4-year-old inside with her.
At some point, she found her 2-month-old child unresponsive and took him inside as well, where nurses performed CPR and tried to save him.
“I know some of the questions you may have is how long the child left in the vehicle, were the windows up or down. That’s something that we are looking into,” Assistant Chief Yasar Bashir said.
The infant was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
It’s unclear if the car was running or if she left the younger child in the car on purpose or by accident, police said. The mother and father have been cooperative, police said.
“Under no circumstances you should leave a child in the car, not even for a moment,” Bashir said.
It’s at least the fourth time this summer a kid has been left in a hot car in the Houston area. Last month, a Richmond 6-year-old died after being left in a hot car, police said.
“It gets very hot, especially an infant or a child, the body temperature goes up very quickly,” Bashir said.
He called the situations avoidable.
The incident happened not far from Hobby Airport, where the temperature reached 100 degrees on Tuesday.
The infant’s cause of death has not been determined.