A US mum was left utterly devastated after the tragic death of her toddler who was accidentally left in a hot car for several hours.
The gut-wrenching incident occurred on Tuesday (30 August) afternoon at a home in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey.
The child, who has not yet been publicly named, was identified as a two-year-old girl.
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Local police and medical units were called to the scene after a neighbour spotted the youngster alone in her car seat.
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The neighbour, who was a member of a local fire department, was performing CPR on the two-year-old when authorities arrived on the scene.
Police officers also attempted life saving measures while they waited for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital medical units to arrive, but the child was pronounced dead at the scene.
It's understood that the toddler had been left in her car seat at some point on Tuesday morning, but it wasn't until hours later that someone had realised.
However, it remains unknown why the child was in the car or whether the parents will face charges.
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According to the National Weather Service, the air temperature recorded at 2pm that day was 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celcius).
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Speaking to local news station WABC, a neighbour described the parents' reaction as "gut-wrenching."
"They were just screaming in pain and anguish," Treana Huntley said. "I heard the dad screaming uncontrollably, and then I heard the mom start wailing, really sobbing.
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"It was gut-wrenching. It 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."
An autopsy to determine the child's cause and manner of death is set to be performed by the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner's Office.
According to non-profit KidsAndCars.org, this toddler is 22nd child to die in a hot car in the US this year.
Just last month, a six-month-old baby was pronounced dead in Louisiana after being left in a car for five hours while her mum was at work.
Mum Ivy Lee was charged with second-degree murder after allegedly knowingly leaving her baby alone in the car, while temperatures soared to 33 degrees Celcius.
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At first, Lee denied that the child had been in her care when she was found unresponsive, but later confessed to leaving her daughter in the car.
Authorities said that she had been at work for 10.30am and didn't return to the car until 3.30pm. The mum allegedly told officers that she thought her baby was sleeping.
According to Ivy's sister, it wasn't the first time that the mum has left her child unattended in her vehicle.
Topics: News
Ali Condon