Safety is always at the top of parents’ minds. It seems that around every corner is a new hazard they must be on the lookout for. From choking hazards, gun-related incidents, car accidents and drownings that are more prevalent than ever before, the statistics are enough to send any parent into a spiral.
This week in Arizona, a family is suffering through the reality of one of those unthinkable fears after the father of a 2-year-old girl left her in a car parked in their Arizona driveway. In a summer that saw record-breaking heat, the father told police he left the child in the parked car with the engine running because he did not want to wake her. The father was allegedly distracted by video games and putting away groceries. He was occupied for about three hours before he checked on the little girl, according to reporting from national news outlets.
Police investigating the child’s death say that the father – who has since been charged with second-degree murder and child abuse related to his daughter’s death – regularly left the little girl and her two older brothers in the car and added that he knew the car would shut off when in park for more than 30 minutes. The temperature in Arizona on the day of the child’s death had reached 109 degrees.