A nine-year-old girl has died after being left inside a sweltering car for six hours while her mum was at work.
The youngster was left in the vehicle when the 36-year-old mother turned up for her 6am shift at United States Gypsum in Galena Park, Texas, on Tuesday.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters the woman claimed to have left her daughter with some water and the windows partially down.
But he added: ‘I don’t know if anyone checked on the child throughout the day.’
The mum called police at 2.06pm that afternoon.
Emergency services were on the scene by 3.15pm and tried to revive the girl, ABC13 reported.
She was rushed to Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital 10 miles away but was declared dead soon after.
‘A nine-year-old beautiful little girl has lost her life by no fault of her own,’ Mr Gonzalez said.
‘The temperature is extremely high, as we know – I think it’s at least 97 degrees.
‘Any amount of time can be very dangerous and even fatal for a small child. A child’s temperature increases at a much higher rate than an adult’s.’
The sheriff confirmed the mum has been detained and charges were likely to follow.
He said, ‘you can be sympathetic to her situation’, pointing out that it is unclear whether there were any childcare or family issues that prevented the mother leaving the child with someone else.
But he added: ‘It’s never acceptable to leave a child in the car.’
USG Corp. confirmed the incident in a statement issued Tuesday night.
Spokesperson Kathleen Prause said: ‘I can confirm a medical emergency occurred today at a USG plant in Galena Park, TX, involving the child of an employee.
‘Our thoughts are with the family of the child and all those impacted. Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of USG team members and our community.
‘We are monitoring the situation closely and are cooperating fully with local authorities as they respond and conduct their investigation. We will provide updates as appropriate.’
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