A North Carolina caretaker was charged with second-degree murder in connection to the death of a patient with cerebral palsy — who she allegedly left unattended in a hot car for five hours, cops said.
Briea Askew, 29, left the 21-year-old woman inside an unattended vehicle on Aug. 10, the High Point Police Department said in a Monday news release.
The woman’s temperature rose to more than 110 degrees as she stayed in the sweltering car, which did not have air conditioning, authorities said.
She was taken to the Wake Forest Baptist High Point Hospital, where she died a short time later.
Police responded to the hospital at 2:30 p.m. that day for a death investigation.
Investigators determined that excessive heat and humidity contributed to the woman’s death.
Askew is being held at the High Point Detention Center, inmate records show, under a $200,000 secured bond.