Baby dies in hot car while parents attend church service in Florida

• A baby died in a hot car while her parents were in church.
• They say they left the 11-month-old in the car by accident.
• The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital.

In a painful tragedy, police in Palm Bay, Florida, reported the death of an 11-month-old baby who died after her parents accidentally left her in a hot car while they attended church.

The call for help came on Sunday, May 28 at 1:00 p.m. Police were informed of a baby with no apparent vital signs at Olives Evangelical Baptist Church.

Baby dies in hot car while parents attend church

According to police, the little girl, only 11 months old, was accidentally left in the car for about three hours, while her parents attended a religious service.

When the officers confirmed that the baby was unresponsive they immediately transported her to a nearby hospital.

The baby was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital

Despite efforts to revive her, the baby was declared dead when she arrived at the emergency room. “This is an unfortunate incident. Our condolences and prayers go out to this family,» said Palm Bay Police Chief Mario Argüello.

To understand what happened to the baby, Dr. Julieta Quintana spoke exclusively with MundoNow and explained, «An hour inside a vehicle in a sunny place or two hours inside a vehicle in the shade can cause injury and even death.»

Temperatures inside a car are much higher than outside

The expert continued: “It has been shown that the temperature inside a vehicle increases faster than outside, due to a greenhouse effect. Also, a child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s.»

As the heat increases, the body begins to show warning signs. «When the temperature rises to 104 degrees inside the vehicle, symptoms of heat stroke begin: nausea, vomiting, dehydration, excessive sweating and headache. By the time the heat rises to 105 it becomes potentially fatal. And at 111 degrees, death is certain,” says the doctor.

Hot car deaths are on the rise

The death of children, especially infants, are always painful for the community. According to data provided to MundoNow, hot car deaths are much more common than people realize. The organization KidsandCars.org reports that Florida has the second highest number of such deaths in the United States.

While the authorities work to understand what happened in this case, parents are urged to establish methods or protocols to keep their children safe and ensure they don’t forget their in the backseat.