Empathetic to the grieving family of a 2-year-old boy who died Tuesday evening after being found in a hot vehicle outside a residence near Marietta, Cobb County police Chief Stuart VanHoozer urged the community to extend grace.
The home was surrounded by caution tape and a myriad of unanswered questions Wednesday morning as officials said no criminal charges were expected “at this time.” The boy was found unresponsive in the vehicle on a day metro Atlanta saw temperatures in the upper 80s.
“If I was in the position of this father, mother, sibling, friend, I would want a lot of grace right now, and a lot of support, and that’s what I would ask of the community,” VanHoozer said during a news conference.
Officers were called to the 800 block of Wanda Circle, off Windy Hill Road, shortly after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday after a 911 caller advised officials that a child was unresponsive and had been left in a vehicle, Cobb police spokesman Sgt. Eric Smith said Wednesday. The boy was rushed to the hospital, where he died.
Police previously said the caller stated the child was left in the vehicle “for an extended period of time,” but Smith said there was no evidence at this time to suggest he had been left there at all.
“We don’t know right now whether or not criminal charges are warranted, or whether or not outrage is warranted,” VanHoozer said.
Next of kin has been notified, but officials did not release the boy’s name.
Leaving a child in a hot car can lead to murder charges, as was the case for Justin Ross Harris, who was accused of leaving his 22-month-old son to die in his hot SUV just over 10 years ago. On June 18, 2014, Harris told police he forgot to drop off Cooper and that he didn’t realize he’d left him in his car seat, authorities said. Cooper died within hours, and the case drew national attention.
In June 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned Harris’ murder conviction, though he was eventually sentenced to prison for exchanging graphic text messages with an underage girl. Last month, he was released from prison and transferred to the Cobb County jail, where he could spend the remaining two years of his sentence.
On Wednesday, Cobb officials did not say if the 2-year-old boy got into the vehicle on his own or how long he was inside. Though the vehicle was found in a residential area, police did not confirm who owned it or if the child lived in a house on the street.
VanHoozer urged residents to be careful in the heat and said the incident was “one example of some things that can go wrong.”
An average of 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle in the United States, according to the National Safety Council. At least 29 deaths were reported in 2023, data from the Kids and Car Safety organization showed.
That included a 4-month-old girl who was left in a hot car for more than five hours in October while her mother cleaned a home in Newton County. The mother, Ariel Osbey, was arrested on charges including second-degree murder and making false statements, the Newton sheriff’s office said.
Tuesday’s incident is the sixth hot car death involving a child in the U.S. so far this year, which comes amid record-breaking temperatures this summer. More intense heat is expected to impact the West Coast, the Southeast and East Coast this week, according to the National Weather Service. Metro Atlanta’s high temperatures on Tuesday came six days after the area reached 100 degrees for the first time in nearly five years.
Even when it feels cool outside, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says you should never leave infants or children in a parked car, as it can rapidly heat up to dangerous temperatures. Leaving a window open isn’t enough, the agency says, as temps inside can rise nearly 20 degrees in the first 10 minutes.
“Children who are left unattended in parked cars are at greatest risk for heatstroke, and possibly death,” the CDC added.
Since 1998, at least 40 hot car deaths involving children have been reported in Georgia, according to the National Safety Council. More than half of hot car deaths happen when the person responsible loses awareness of the child in the car and unknowingly leaves them behind, KidsAndCars.org said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a child’s body temperature increases three to five times faster than an adult’s, with heatstroke beginning when the core body temperature reaches about 104 degrees.
“A child in distress due to heat should be removed from the vehicle as quickly as possible and rapidly cooled,” the NHTSA says.
An investigation into Tuesday’s death is ongoing. Smith said the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office “assumed jurisdiction of the deceased.”
Here are some safety tips from the NHTSA:
⋅ Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat when the vehicle is not occupied. Once the child is in the seat and buckled in, their parents or guardians should then place the stuffed animal in the front seat next to them.
⋅ Leave a note and put a purse or briefcase in the backseat as another reminder to look before locking the car.
⋅ Make a habit of making sure no one is inside after getting out of the vehicle. If a child is missing, check vehicles and car trunks immediately.
⋅ When not using the car, always lock it, as a child from the neighborhood could try to get inside.
⋅ If you see a child alone in a locked car, immediately call 911.
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