Police in Louisiana have announced yet another heartbreaking instance of a young child dying as a result of being left in a sweltering car.
As reported by PEOPLE, officials from the Jennings Police Department have confirmed that a 10-month-old baby girl has died after being left in a hot car by her mom.
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In a press release shared on social media, the department revealed that the heartbreaking tragedy occurred on Tuesday (August 13) at approximately 4:00PM. Per Accuweather, temperatures reached as high as 95 degrees in Jennings that day.
Officers were alerted to the incident after receiving a call from Ochsner Hospital.
Despite the best efforts from staff at the hospital, the baby girl was sadly pronounced dead on Wednesday (August 14) at around 11:00PM.
The child's mom was questioned by police about the events leading up to the incident.
"Jennings Police Department received a call from Ochsner Hospital in Jennings concerning a 10-month-old female whose Mother said the child had been in a hot car approximately 1 ½ hours," the press released read.
"Investigators interviewed the Mother who indicated she was called in to work and inadvertently left the child in the car while she was inside," officials continued.
At this time, police have confirmed that an investigation into the tragedy is ongoing and that the mother has not been charged with a crime.
Speaking to KPLC, Jennings Police Chief Danny Semmes said: "We’ll have to do some type of reenactment if possible to try and determine what the temperature in the car was, but our initial estimates were in excess of 120 degrees.
"It's a tragic situation, my heart goes out to the baby and the family," Semmes added per KATC. "What people can take from this is: It just takes a second to look in the back seat. You got into the habit of putting on your seat belt, get into the habit of looking in the back seat to see if your kids are back there.
"We've all learned the habit of making sure we have our cell phone, we can make sure our children aren't in the car. That's top priority."
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, about 40 children die of heatstroke in the United States every year after being left or becoming trapped in a car.
Records show more than 950 children have died in hot cars over the past 25 years, with 56 cases in California alone.
Dr. David Diamond, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, explained to NBC San Diego that forgetting a child in the backseat is easier than people might think, especially when rushing.
"We have a powerful brain-autopilot memory system that gets us to do things automatically, and in that process, we lose awareness of other things in our mind, including that there's a child in the car," he said.
Car seat expert Emily Thomas Ph.D. also explained to ABC23 why children are more vulnerable that adults inside a hot car.
"The temperature inside a closed vehicle can reach dangerously high levels in less than an hour," Thomas said. "This is unsafe for small children and babies because their body temperature rises three to five times faster than adults and they are unable to efficiently regulate their body temperature."
Both Thomas and Diamond also shared tips on how to prevent tragedies like this happening to others.
"We encourage parents to make a habit of everyday putting a laptop bag or a lunchbox in the back seat, even if your child is not with you. Doing this will force you to visit the backseat after every trip," Thomas said
Other suggestions were to keep an important item of your child's on the front seat next to you, such as their coat or sippy cup.
"Some people go so far as to say put a shoe in the back seat," Diamond said. "Give yourself a cue so that when you get out of the car you have that reminder."
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