The child’s parents told Dallas Child Abuse Unit investigators they had returned home after spending the day at a nearby park with their six children, USA Today reported.
The girl’s parents went inside to take a nap after the family outing. The girl’s father discovered his daughter’s dead body when he later went outside to work on his car, NBC News reported. The girl was still strapped to her child safety seat.
“(The girl’s) parents stated that they believed all children had exited the vehicle when they returned home,” police spokeswoman Senior Cpl. Melinda Gutierrez said in a written statement.
“He immediately removed the child from the vehicle and took her inside, where he called 911 as the mother performed CPR for approximately 30 minutes,” said the police rep.
The toddler was driven to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7:19 p.m. local time July 17. No charges have been filed against the parents.
Nariyah Raufu’s death has sparked outrage among concerned parents, who wonder how anyone can leave their child trapped inside a hot car.
However, statistics show children dying in hot cars is more common than most people realize. An average of 38 children die each year after being trapped in hot cars, according to KidsandCars.org. Texas leads the nation in the number of children who have died after being left in hot cars.
