6mo ago

2-year-old Arizona girl dies after dad leaves her in car during triple-digit heat: Police

abcnews.go.com 2-year-old Arizona girl dies after dad leaves her in car during triple-digit heat: Police

A 2-year-old girl has died after her father left her in a hot car as triple-digit temperatures hit Arizona.

A 2-year-old girl has died after her father left her in a hot car in Arizona, where residents are enduring triple-digit temperatures, according to authorities.

The father was running errands with his daughter, and when he returned home Tuesday afternoon, he allegedly knowingly left the 2-year-old in the car, Marana Police Capt. Tim Brunenkant told ABC News.

He left the car running and the air conditioning on, Brunenkant said.

The dad went into the house, and when he returned to the car between 30 and 60 minutes later, the car was off, Brunenkant said.

55 comments

The dad went into the house, and when he returned to the car between 30 and 60 minutes later
This is the part that really confuses me, they were home. I get that parents sometimes need a break from their kid but:
You're home, so take your kid inside and then you go somewhere else.
30 to 60 minutes?!? I can understand taking 10 minutes (which is still a dangerous amount of time) but WTF was going on for 30 to 60 minutes.
I know it's not the point of the article, but I'm also annoyed at the idea of someone intending to run their car for 30-60 minutes for no reason. I will admit I've left my car running just for the comfort of A/C while I'm waiting, and I don't live in Arizona heat, but dude was home.
- The only thing aside from wanting a break was maybe the kid was asleep and the engine keeps them asleep? Cars put lots of kids to sleep.
  Didn't want to wake the kid and wanted the break?
  Not an excuse though, should have stayed in the car if that's what was up.
- I'll leave this article here but fair warning, it's a tough read
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/fatal-distraction-forgetting-a-child-in-thebackseat-of-a-car-is-a-horrifying-mistake-is-it-a-crime/2014/06/16/8ae0fe3a-f580-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html
  
  That's very different though. This article states he "knowingly left the 2-year-old in the car".
- That’s Standard dad-poop session.he must’ve really been turtling. But if it came down to it, i would poop my pants and let my kid live. But i’m a good dad.

Try that fucker for murder.
- Yeah this isn't a tragic accident, like they so often are.
  This is straight neglect.
  
  It doesn't say, but as a parent of five kids, I'm going to bet the 2 year old fell asleep and dad didn't want to wake her. Maybe I'm being too generous, but I guess I'd need more information to be so certain about judging them.
  I've probably done shit like this before although I'd never let the car out of my sight. And certainly not in 111 degrees. A/C doesn't really work that well when the car isn't in motion.
- Why was the car off when he returned if he left it running with the AC on?
  It’s a tragedy, but if I’m on the jury I’m not sure I would convict him.
  
  Many modern vehicles automatically turn off after 30-60 minutes idling "to save fuel". I order to turn it off you have to hit the A button on the dash. it's proven to be deadly.
  
  Leaving a two-year-old alone in a car for 30-60 minutes (he doesn't even know how long he was gone) ~~isn't~~ is criminal in and of itself regardless of the weather. On top of that, he knew it was in the triple digits and he's also not so stupid that he doesn't know that cars can break down. I don't know what to tell you. I just hope you aren't responsible for any toddlers.
  Edit: Stupid typo.
  
  -deleted-
  
  My mom's car, a mid-'10s Acura, will turn itself off if you leave with the key and get too far away from the car for too long without enabling valet mode.
  
  Most modern cars have an auto-off feature. Some have a button to temporarily disable it.
  
  Because it looks like it may have been a tesla and those are failure machines for idiots.
  The car probably had "AI" face detection of vulnerable children in high heat conditions which then triggered a "surge subscription" notification on the app. "Upgrade to infant climate+ NOW, in the next 2 minutes, or your air conditioning will be temporarily shifted to heater until you decide to upgrade. Thank you."
- This reminds me of that post about how to spot a kid on the Internet. Insane extreme takes and an inability to understand nuance.
  10 years ago no car would automatically turn off if you left it running. It would only stop if it ran out of gas (which could be days). You want to charge a man with murder because he didn't memorize the owner's manual.
  
  You want to charge a man with murder because he didn't memorize the owner's manual
  They were at home. Father got home at 2:45 mother got home at 4:00 and 911 call at 4:10. The father left this poor child in the car for over an hour. You want to blame the fucking car?!

This shit is so fucking infuriating. That innocent child suffered before she died.

I blast my AC full blast and roll down all the windows just to pump gas in heat.
- You shouldn't have the car running while pumping gas.
  
  Did I mention I light up a cigarette, pull out my phone, then almost at the end I hold a water bottle and try to see if I can shoot.... I turn my car off.
  
  This is sort of a southerner thing. Up north, many gas stations actually ask you to keep your engine running while you pump. Because when it’s -20 degrees outside, turning your engine off is just asking to get stranded. And if you get stranded at a gas station overnight, (like when the lobby has closed but the pumps are still active for card transactions,) there’s a good chance you’ll be dead in the parking lot by the time the morning crew shows up to open.

As a fellow parent, I will never empathize or sympathize with these poor decisions. How could you leave your fucking child in the car, NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. Idgaf if they were sleeping or whatever. Idgaf how exhausted you are. You have a responsibility to your child. If they are so difficult to keep put them up for adoption or some shit. I’ve never and could never forget my kids or leave my kids somewhere like this. This is pure stupidity.
I don’t think he should be charged but the mother should be entitled to a divorce with alimony at the expense of the father. He is the type of person to not give a shit about anyone but himself.

I really want to wonder why this keeps happening but some people are just careless or evil. Or both.
- They're stupid and trust the car to keep running.

Looks like that's a tesla roped off there, because of course that's the type of person that would have this level of thought and irresponsibility. Person was probably watching YouTube videos about babies being too woke and not enough high temperature exposure being the coddling culprit. Or "natural vaccines with heat exposure therapy!"
The only appropriate sentence for these types of crimes is for the "parent" to be sealed in a glass box for all to witness, in the center of town, without water, in the Phoenix sun, until they experience the same avoidable fate.
Child protective services need to remove any other children from these homes.

I really hate motherfuckers that idle their car

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