New Jersey toddler dies after being trapped in hot car in her family’s driveway for SEVEN HOURS as temperatures reached 80 degrees: Neighbors describe parents’ piercing screams after being told she was dead
- Emergency workers were called to the house in Franklin Township, New Jersey, on Tuesday
- Neighbors spotted the toddler sitting in the Honda Civic unconscious at around 2pm
- The neighbor pulled the child out of the vehicle to perform CPR but she couldn’t be revived
- When police arrived, they knocked on the door of the house to tell her parents what they’d found
- It remains unclear just how the child could have been left alone in the car for as long as eight hours
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A two-year-old girl has died in New Jersey after being left in a hot car parked in the family’s driveway for up to eight hours.
The toddler was spotted by neighbors passed out inside the car on Tuesday as temperatures soared to 80f.
One neighbor who works for the fire department pulled her out of the car and performed CPR in the driveway until EMTs arrived but he was unable to revive her. Police then knocked on the parents’ front door to tell them what they’d found.
It remains unclear if the parents – who have not yet been named – may face charges. Neighbors described watching the mother buckle into tears, wailing in the driveway, after being told her daughter was dead.
‘How can that happen? How do you forget? I guess we’re all forgetful, I’ve forgotten things in the car. But how do you forget the toddler, you know? I don’t know,’ neighbor Alex Krstavski said.
First responders were called to the home in Franklin Township, which borders Princeton, on Tuesday.
The gray Honda Civic in which the child died is seen parked in the driveway of the house
The parents were informed by police, who knocked on their door, about the death of their daughter
A woman, believed to be a neighbor, is seen outside the house, where floral tributes have been laid.
‘They were just screaming in pain and anguish. She collapsed to the ground and he went to console her,’ another neighbor told NBC New York.
‘They’re great parents. I’ve seen them be very loving and doting on their daughters.’
Treana Huntley, who lived opposite them, told The Franklin Reporter that the sound of the parents’ wailing was devastating.
‘It was gut-wrenching, almost made me want to break into tears. As a mother, just hearing that pain from another mother, it was very hurtful to hear. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.’
The car is seen being removed from the house
Treana Huntley, who lived opposite the family, said the parents’ screams were devastating
She said the death has struck the entire neighborhood.
‘This whole block was very emotional,’ she said.
The cause of death is unconfirmed, and the family has not been named.
The child is the 22nd to die this year in the U.S. from being left in a hot car, four of which happened in a week’s time in August, according to kidsandcars.com.
Director Amber Rollins is working with families who’ve lost children to the tragic accidents to make technology that could prevent more deaths a requirement in all new vehicles.
Kids and Car Safety, along with parents, sent a letter to Pete Buttigieg, secretary of Department of Transportation, urging him to move forward with the provision that passed in the infrastructure bill last year.
‘Every parent has made mistakes, no matter what it looks like. Sadly, some of the mistakes result in tragedy and none of us expect it,’ Elizabeth Crapo, whose 20-month-old daughter Marah died after being left in a car, told the organization. ‘And all of a sudden, you’re part of this club no one wants to be part of.’
‘I failed in my job as a protector. I failed my child,’ Marah’s father, Austin Crapo said.
‘I promise you nobody could make me feel worse.’