Overview

• On July 1, a 9-year-old girl was left in a Toyota Camry in Galena Park, Texas, during her mother’s eight-hour work shift and was found unresponsive before being pronounced dead at a hospital.
• Temperatures around 97°F created lethal conditions inside the car despite windows being partially opened and water left inside.
• The 36-year-old mother was detained on Tuesday and released the next day pending autopsy results as authorities continue their investigation.
• Detectives are probing her decision-making and timeline of events while the Harris County District Attorney’s Office considers charges under Texas law prohibiting unattended children in vehicles.
• This incident is the third fatal hot-car case in Texas in four days and the 13th nationwide this year with record summer heat intensifying in-car hazards.