A death investigation is under way after a 2-month-old baby was found unresponsive in a hot parked SUV in Santee last Thursday, sheriff’s officials said.
A family member called 911 around 12:20 a.m. June 13 after finding the baby girl inside an SUV that had been parked outside a house for “several hours” on Settle Road near Dalehurst Road, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
The department said the baby had been “left in hot car.”
Deputies and paramedics responded and provided emergency care before the baby was transported to Sharp Grossmont Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The name of the baby has not been released. The county Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death, officials said.
No arrests have been made. Officials said the investigation is continuing.
They asked anyone with information about the incident to call the sheriff’s child abuse unit at (858) 285-6222 or the Sheriff’s Department non-emergency line at (858) 868-3200.
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The death of the child comes just days before the official start of summer and prompted sheriff’s officials to remind the public that it is illegal to leave a child alone in a car — even when the engine is running or the key is in the ignition.
They noted that the interior of a vehicle can reach 105 degrees when it is just 75 degrees outdoors.
“Never leave your child alone in a car even for a second to dash into a store or to run a quick errand,” the department said in the news release.
Officials note that summer routines can shift unexpectedly and that parents can forget a quiet or sleeping child in the backseat of a car.
They urge parents to remember: “Once You Park, Stop, Look, Lock.”
Other tips included:
• Checking with your spouse, partner or caregiver when there is a change in schedules.
• Asking the childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected.
• Placing a purse, briefcase, phone, work badge or other personal items in the backseat, as another reminder to look before you lock.
• Writing a note or placing a stuffed animal in the passenger’s seat as a reminder that a child is in the backseat.
• Teaching children that a vehicle is not a play area and remembering to lock car doors and keep keys and fobs out of reach of children to prevent them from getting trapped inside.
According to the nonprofit group Kids and Car Safety, this would be at least the third child to die in a hot car this year. More than 1,085 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990, the group said. More than 85 percent of children who die in hot cars are age 3 or younger.