- Texas Mother Charged with Murder After 9-Year-Old Daughter Dies in Hot Car
- The medical examiner ruled the child’s death a homicide caused by hyperthermia
- Authorities urge the public to act quickly if they see a child or pet left alone in a vehicle by calling 911 immediately
Three and a half months after the tragic death of a 9-year-old girl who was left inside a car for several hours, authorities in Harris County, Texas, have charged the child’s mother with felony murder, Eko Hot Blog reports.
According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, 36-year-old Gbemisola G. Akayinod was arrested and booked into the county jail in connection with the death of her daughter, Oluwasikemi Akayinode.
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The medical examiner ruled the child’s death a homicide caused by hyperthermia.
Investigators said the incident occurred on July 1, when Akayinod reportedly brought her daughter to her workplace at a Galena Park plant and left her inside the vehicle around 6 a.m. while she began her shift. The girl was left with a bottle of water and the windows slightly cracked. When Akayinod returned around 2 p.m., she found the child unresponsive.
Emergency responders performed CPR before taking Oluwasikemi to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Sheriff Gonzalez said a window shade had been placed on the car’s front windshield, likely obstructing the view of anyone passing by.
Experts say such incidents, though devastating, are preventable. Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Jose State University and a researcher on hot car deaths, said the Galena Park case stands out because the parent “knowingly left the child in the car, not to cause harm, but as a conscious decision to attend to something else.”
Null explained that about 20% of hot car deaths result from parents who intentionally leave their children in vehicles, while most occur accidentally. Despite public awareness and technological improvements, the number of annual fatalities has remained steady since records began in 1998.
Medical experts warn that even brief exposure to extreme heat can be fatal. Dr. Anthony Arredondo of Texas Children’s Hospital said once body temperature rises above 102 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, severe organ and brain damage can occur.
Authorities urge the public to act quickly if they see a child or pet left alone in a vehicle by calling 911 immediately. According to the National Safety Council, an average of 38 children die every year in hot car incidents across the United States.
To help prevent such tragedies, safety experts recommend teaching children how to:
Unbuckle their seat belts.
Honk the horn to draw attention.
Turn on hazard lights.
Unlock doors if possible.
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