A 21-month-old boy died of heat exhaustion in Colquitt County on Tuesday after being shut in his parent's SUV for at least half an hour, the Moultrie Observer reported.

Damian Elias Leyva was in the vehicle for 30 to 45 minutes before his parents, Yaniel and Maria Linda Leyva, found him, the newspaper reported. The SUV was parked outside their home on Tommy Meredith Road near Moultrie.

The toddler was pronounced dead at the Colquitt Regional Medical Center’s emergency room. An investigator told the newspaper the child died of apparent heat exhaustion.

The county coroner told the Moultrie Observer that the the incident appears to be a “tragic accident,” but tests are being conducted.

This is the first documented hot-car death in Georgia this year, according to KidsandCars.org, which is a nonprofit that tracks car-related deaths and injuries in children left unattended around cars.

AJC.com has contacted the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office for more information on this incident.

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Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, seen here in a file photo from Nov. 14, 2024, is conducting a statewide audit of voter registrations targeting registrations at businesses and P.O. boxes for possible cancelation. (Jason Getz / AJC)

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