A 3-month-old boy died Thursday after he was left in his parents' car "for several hours," police in Pennsylvania said.
Police in Upper Saint Clair, a township outside of Pittsburgh, responded to the home at 5 p.m. and found the baby unresponsive, according to a statement from the Allegheny County Police Department. The high was 92 degrees Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Lifesaving measures failed, and the child was pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials.
"Upper Saint Clair police determined the infant was left inside a parent’s vehicle for several hours and requested homicide detectives," the police statement said. The incident is under investigation.
The baby was the fifth child to die in a hot car this year in the United States, according to KidsAndCars.org.
A 1-year-old died May 19 — a day when temperatures reached 91 degrees — after being found in a vehicle outside a Memphis, Tennessee, day care center, police said. The day care center, Education is the Key Children's Center, closed days later after the operator surrendered the facility's license, the Tennessee Department of Human Services told The Commercial Appeal.
Weeks before that, an 8-month-old girl died after she was left in a car for hours on May 3 while her father was being arrested at a Snellville, Georgia, police station. According to the weather service, temperatures reached a high of 86 degrees that day in Atlanta, located about 30 miles northeast of Snellville. The girl's father was charged with second-degree murder in connection her death.
Even if windows are left slightly open, the temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees in minutes, and a child's body overheats up to five times faster than an adult's, according to KidsAndcars.org.
The organization recommends caregivers place an object in the front seat to remind them of a child in the back, and to always check the back seat for people or pets. It also says cars should remain locked so that children cannot get inside.
On average, 38 children a year die in hot cars.
