Overview

• A 36-year-old mother in Galena Park, Texas, was arrested after leaving her 9-year-old daughter locked in a Toyota Camry for about eight hours, resulting in the child’s death.
• Officials in Harris County will wait for autopsy results before deciding on possible charges in the Galena Park incident.
• In Bakersfield, California, Maya Hernandez faces involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty charges with bail set at over $1 million and a preliminary hearing scheduled in mid-July.
• Investigators confirmed that automatic engine shutoff systems in the Toyota vehicles disabled air conditioning after one hour, allowing internal temperatures to soar above 107°F.
• Safety advocates are urging automakers to adopt in-car child-detection and alert technologies after recent hot-car fatalities have highlighted how quickly temperatures can become lethal.