5-Year-Old Boy Dies After Mother Left Him In Hot Car While She Prepared For Birthday Party

A 5-year-old boy reportedly died after his mother left him alone inside a hot car for hours while she prepared for her daughter's birthday party in Houston, Texas on Monday, June 20.

On Monday, June 20, the boy’s mother returned home to the family's residence in Houston with her 8-year-old child and the younger sibling. The youngest child was reportedly strapped to a child safety seat in the back seat of the car.

After parking the car, the mother exited the car with her 8-year-old daughter and entered the house in a rush. Meanwhile, the mother assumed the other child got out behind her since the toddler normally knows how to unbuckle himself. However, she forgot that the vehicle was a rental vehicle, NBC News reported.

Unfortunately, the boy, whose identity has been withheld from the public, was left in the car for two or three hours in the safety seat while his family was making preparations to celebrate the older sibling’s birthday party.

"This time the child didn't make it out and again with the business of the activities that they were preparing for, it took a while for them to notice that the child wasn't in the house," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

After two or three hours passed, the boy’s mother looked around the residence and realized that her 5-year-old was missing. She then ran to the car and saw that the poor child was still in the safety seat of the car in the hot sun. The child was unfortunately pronounced dead at the scene, CNN reported.

"The door did not have any kind of child safety lock enacted or anything like that," Gonzales said.

It is unclear if the mother will face charges following the careless accident. Meanwhile, a representative with the sheriff’s office said that an investigation is ongoing and that police will meet with county prosecutors to present the findings.

On Monday, June 20, temperatures in Houston reached a record high as the Houston Hobby Airport reported a high heat of 101 degrees. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), about 38 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a car. It is reported that children's body temperatures rise much more quickly than adults and that they begin to suffer heatstroke when their temperature reaches 104 degrees.