A toddler is expected to recover after police said his mother accidentally left him in a hot car for 2 1/2 hours in blistering temperatures in Utah over the weekend.
The 1 1/2-year-old boy was found Sunday afternoon in his family's car. He was lethargic and his breathing was shallow. His temperature had reached 105 degrees, according to police.
"This car was 154 degrees inside a few minutes after paramedics had opened the door and were doing their work on the child," Lt. Lex Bell, of the Unified Police Department, told KSTU. "So (it) probably was even higher than that."
The car was parked in the family's driveway with its windows rolled up, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The child was flown to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he was initially listed in critical condition. He has since been upgraded to fair condition, Bell said.
Police told KSTU that the boy's mother went to church on Sunday afternoon and decided to go home after she fell ill. She left her husband and their other children at the church, but forgot that she had brought home their toddler son. She went inside while he was still strapped in his car seat, The Tribune reported.
The child's father discovered him when he returned home from church.
Police did not identify the family and told reporters that officers do not anticipate making any arrests in the case.
"A child should be the first thing that goes into the house," Bell told KUTV. "It gets hot so fast inside of those cars, and this could have been so much more tragic than it is."
Hot weather is expected across Utah this week, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters said Sunday that temperatures in Salt Lake City reached 90 degrees for the 16th time this month.
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