MARANA, Ariz. — A 2-year-old girl died after being left in a hot car in Marana, according to officials with the Marana Police Department.
First responders were called to a neighborhood near I-10 and Cortaro Farms Road by the father of the child around 4 p.m. Crews began resuscitation efforts on the child, who was then taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Una pequeña niña murió luego de ser dejada en un auto caliente en Arizona
Initial information the father gave to officers is that he was running errands with the child in the car. When he arrived back home, the child was asleep and the father claims to have left the vehicle running in the driveway while he went inside and left the child in the vehicle.
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"The car was left running, the dad went inside, we are trying to determine how long the child was left in the car. The child was in a child's seat. When he came back out, the child was found unresponsive," Captain Tim Brunenkant with the Marana Police Department said.
When the mother arrived home, the car's air conditioning was off.
Officials believe the child was in the car between 30 minutes to an hour. Brunenkant could not confirm if the car was running when police arrived at the scene but said the car was "very hot."
"We're trying to determine that right now. We are doing our interviews with the dad, any witnesses, neighbors, to determine if the car was still running, if the AC was still operational. All we know is it was a hot car and the child was unresponsive, it was very hot, and it's very tragic."
The mother of the child was also running errands, police said, and said she was not home at the time.
A decision on whether or not to file charges will come after an investigation, Brunenkant said.
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