A mother in Texas is being charged with murder because she forgot to take her baby out of the hot car and left it there.
In a press statement on Tuesday, Aug. 20, the Corpus Christi Police Department said that Hilda Ann Adame, 33, had been arrested and charged with injury to a child, serious bodily injury, abandonment, endangerment of a child, and imminent bodily injury.
Adame’s 22-month-old child Harley Adame had also been “left in a vehicle,” the police said. Adame forgot to take her toddler to daycare on Kostoryz Road before going to work, according to a probable cause statement given by the Corpus Christi Police Department and seen by KIII TV. The news source says that Adame works for Communities in Schools, a nonprofit that helps kids who are at risk.
KRIS TV reports that an arrest warrant says, “Harley was asleep in the vehicle when Hilda arrived at Tom Browne at 8:00 a.m., where she works. She forgot Harley was in the vehicle and went into the school.”
The arrest document says that Adame left the child in his car around 8 a.m. Police were not sent to 4301 Schanen Blvd (Tom Browne Middle School) until “about 1:29 pm,” according to the news release.
Adame is said to have then gone to school with Harley to get help.
The press statement said that when CCPD and the Corpus Christi Fire Department got there, they were told to go to the toddler, who they saw getting CPR from the school nurse.
The child was then taken to Driscoll Children’s Hospital, but at 1:53 p.m., the hospital staff declared her dead.
The press release says that CCFD took the 22-month-old baby to a nearby hospital, where they were later declared dead. A young child was found in a hot car at Tom Browne Middle School on Tuesday.
Corpus Christi ISD and school leaders are aware of this. “We want to thank everyone who acted quickly when they heard about the situation, including school staff, district police, and local police,” KIII TV reported that CCISD Chief Communications Officer Leanne Libby said in a statement.
The National Weather Service said that South Texas would have a dangerously high heat index for the week because of above-average temperatures and a lot of rain. On Tuesday, the City of Corpus Christi issued an extreme heat warning.
The warning said that the heat index would be between 115°F and 118°F today and tomorrow (Wednesday, August 21).
People asked the Corpus Christi Police Media Relations Office for a response but did not hear back right away.
At this time, it is not known if Adame has a lawyer defending her.