‘Sassy’ 3-year-old who died in a hot car in Arizona remembered as mother issues a grave warning to other parents while heat wave spreads across US.
An Arizona family is mourning the loss of their ‘sassy’ three-year-old child who died in horrific circumstances after her father forgot that he left her in the backseat of his car as temperatures went above 98 F degrees.
ANGELA Jones was on the phone with her husband Scott when he suddenly realised he’d left their three-year-old daughter Charlotte in a boiling hot car.
It was September 2019, and Scott had been dropping his two eldest daughters off at school before he returned to his home office for a day of work.
Four hours later Angela called to ask how Charlotte, their youngest, was doing after the couple had decided to keep her out of preschool that week.
But Scott had forgotten Charlotte was also in the car with him that morning.
“All of a sudden I could just hear a panic in his voice,” Angela told Fox News Digital.
“I initially thought she had gotten into the pool or something like that, and then he was like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t think I ever got her out of the car’.”
After realising his mistake, the distraught dad raced to the driveway to find his daughter baking in his car.
He called 911, but it was too late, Charlotte was already succumbing to the blistering heat.
She was given medical treatment at the scene and then rushed to a nearby hospital where she later died, according to azcentral.
Tragically, little Charlotte isn’t the only child to have met her death in this way.
Angela said Charlotte was the beating heart of their young family.
“She was our sassy one, the funny one, always making funny faces, our little ham,” the mum said.
“She was the light in our family, and we are constantly talking about her,” she added
Angela is sharing Charotte’s story in a bid to raise awareness among other parents of the dangers and risks of car heat in the summer.
“We did everything we could to protect our children, and we just never realised that this was a danger until it happened to us,” she said.
“I just want it to resonate with other people so they can have a backup plan or do things because this is a preventable tragedy and it can be stopped through your different measures,” she added.
On average 37 children die each year in the US of heatstroke after being trapped inside hot vehicles – often as a result of their parents having forgotten they were there.
The number of hot car deaths in northern Europe appears to be much lower than in the US.
But that’s hardly surprising given the cooler climate than the southern US states.
If taking a young child in the care with you, the mum suggested putting something in the car seat with the child that you will need later, like your wallet or purse.
And if you’re going to be outside your normal normal routine, she recommended the parent ask the caregiver to give them a call if your child has not arrived at daycare as scheduled.
She also said car seats should be placed on the opposite side of the driver’s side so when they look back they can see the child.
Charlotte was seated directly behind her father when she died.