A 3-year-old girl died after being left in a vehicle in Buckeye on Sunday. She is the third child known to have died in a hot car in Arizona this summer.
Buckeye police say the girl’s family returned home from a trip to the park around 2 p.m., but realized about two hours later the 3-year-old was missing. She was found unresponsive in the car.
Officers who responded to the scene performed chest compressions and used a defibrillator on the child, but she was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital.
The outdoor temperature in Buckeye was 106 degrees at the time of the incident, according to the National Weather Service. The Buckeye Police Department says the investigation is ongoing.
Carissa Planalp with the Buckeye Police Department said the case is a reminder that parents and caregivers should stay vigilant in hot weather.
“If you’re running errands throughout the day, you stop at the store, the kid comes with you, if you stop at home, run in to grab something, the kid comes with you. Always, the kid has to come with you,” Planalp said.
According to the organization Kids and Car Safety, which tracks these incidents, 30 other children nationwide have died in hot cars in 2024, including two others in Arizona. In July, a 6-month-old boy died after being left in a car in Cordes Lakes and a 2-year-old girl died in similar circumstances in Marana. A juvenile neighbor was arrested on charges of negligent homicide in the Cordes Lakes case. The father of the Marana girl faces second-degree murder and child abuse charges.
Between 1990 and 2023, 47 children died in hot cars in Arizona, according to Kids and Car Safety. Only Texas, Florida, and California reported more child hot car deaths during that period.
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Mayes first filed a lawsuit against the park last year. She said management didn’t tell residents about a faulty electrical system, which led to frequent power outages during dangerous summer heat.
