Parent of a Dead 5-year-old Boy Was Arrested After Leaving Him in a Hot Car for Several Hours
Police say a 5-year-old boy died after being left in a car in a parking lot in Omaha, Nebraska.
They said in a press statement that around 5 p.m. local time on July 10, the Omaha Police Department received a report of a “unresponsive child” at 3025 N 93rd Street, which is home to several businesses.
Police said that when they got to the scene, they found the child “located inside of a vehicle.” ABC News says the car was stopped in front of a beauty salon.
The child was then taken to the hospital, where the cops said he was “pronounced deceased.” In addition, they said, “At this point, it looks like the child was left alone in a vehicle for a long time.”
The Omaha Police Department added to the news release that they had arrested Juanita Pinon, 40, the boy’s foster mother. PiƱon was charged with “child abuse by neglect, resulting in death” and sent to Douglas County Corrections.
Police spokesman Chris Gordon told ABC News, “The suspect did not state to say whether it was an accident or on purpose.”
In a police report that ABC affiliate KETV got, the boy was eventually named Dionicio Perez. The news source said that the report said he had been left in the car for seven hours.
KETV said that the temperature outside the car on Wednesday at 5 p.m. had been about 88 degrees. Weather experts also said that it would have taken 10 minutes for the car to get to 100 degrees inside.
The beauty shop staff told the outlet that Pinon was not a customer. They said she was working in a business room that was connected to the back of the store.
KETV was also told by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services that the child was put in foster care and that the department is helping the police with their investigation.
A study from the National Safety Council (NSC) says that 29 children died of heatstroke last year and 10 children died this year. The NSC says that every year, “37 children under the age of 15 die from heatstroke” after being left in a car.
The NSC’s study also showed that “in more than half of these deaths, the child was left in the vehicle by a parent or caregiver.”
Police in Omaha said that they were still looking into the boy’s death.