3-year-old dies after being left in hot car for hours, Columbus coroner says

This story was originally published by the Ledger-Enquirer.

A 3-year-old died on June 26th after being left in a hot car for nearly three hours, authorities said.

Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan identified the child as Kendrick Engram Jr. He was pronounced dead at the Wendy’s on Wynnton Road around 9 p.m.

Bryan told the Ledger-Enquirer that his office was treating Engram’s death as heat-related.

According to Bryan, Engram, along with three other children, went to church with their grandmother around 11 a.m. They left between 1:30 -2 p.m. and went out to eat. The grandmother took the four children to visit the mother during her lunch break at her job.

The grandmother then drove the children to her home around 5:30 p.m. The other children then went inside, but Engram was left in the car. Around 8:15 p.m., Engram’s uncle borrowed the grandmother’s car to go to Wendy’s. Shortly after the uncle left, the grandmother realized that Engram was missing.

The grandmother called the uncle and eventually asked him to check if Engram was in the car. He found Engram in the vehicle unresponsive. At 8:42 p.m., the uncle called first responders.

“The manner of death is going to be accidental,” Bryan said. “The cause of death is certainly going to be a heat-related death. We will be sending him up for an autopsy.”

In 2021, there were 23 pediatric vehicular heat stroke deaths in the United States, and none of them were in Georgia, according to NoHeatStroke.org, a website that tracks heatstroke deaths among children in vehicles.

How to prevent hot car deaths

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has five tips to prevent hot car deaths.
• Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended—even if the windows are partially open or the engine is running, and the air conditioning is on.
• Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle — front and back — before locking the door and walking away. Train yourself to park, look, lock, or always ask yourself, “Where’s Baby?”
• Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected
• Place a personal item like a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger’s seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.
• Store car keys out of a child’s reach and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area.