Overview

• On June 29, Maya Hernandez left her one-year-old son Amillio and his two-year-old brother strapped and locked in a running car outside a med spa while she underwent a cosmetic procedure.
• Investigators determined the vehicle’s air conditioning automatically shut off after one hour, leaving the children without cooling for at least 90 minutes as interior temperatures soared.
• Amillio was hospitalized with a core temperature of 107°F and died shortly before 6 p.m., while his brother survived with a body temperature of 99°F and is now in protective custody.
• Hernandez has been arraigned on involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty charges, is held on more than $1 million bail, and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on July 11.
• The case has renewed advocacy for mandatory in-vehicle alert systems and legislative reforms aimed at preventing further heat-related child deaths in parked cars.