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A 21-month-old Phoenix child died from heat-related causes when she was left in the backseat of her family’s vehicle for nearly two and a half hours on Sunday, June 27, 2010. Sunday temperatures in the valley soared to 108 degrees.

Phoenix police were called to the family’s residence near 33rd Avenue and Sunland where they found the child’s father performing CPR on her. Phoenix fire responded and transported the child to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased.

Investigators at the scene learned that the family of six children and adults had returned from church services around 2:30 p.m. in two separate vehicles. At around 5 p.m. the child’s father left the house to run an errand and discovered that the toddler was still in her car seat in the back of the vehicle. It was unclear who had been responsible for removing the child from the vehicle when the family returned from church earlier that day. The case is being submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for review; the charge, negligent homicide.

Keep in mind that a car is basically a metal box. The hot sun can turn this metal box into an oven. Nobody would ever consider leaving a child in an oven. When the outside temperature is 93 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees in just 20 minutes and 140 degrees in 40 minutes even if a window is cracked open. A car parked in direct sunlight can reach 131- 172 degrees Fahrenheit, even after only fifteen minutes. At that temperature it only takes a matter of minutes for children to die or suffer permanent disability. (North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, 1999)

This was the first Phoenix incident this year involving children dying from heat-related causes. In 2009, 33 children died from similar incidents across the U.S.; in 2010, the number is at 19, so far. The U.S. averages 33 child heat-related deaths each year. There were no such incidents in Phoenix in 2009. Children should never be left unattended in or around vehicles.

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