The 36-year-old mom alerted police to the horrifying death after returning to the Toyota Camry where she had left the girl in the backseat as she worked a shift in suburban Houston on Tuesday, ABC 13 reported.
She left the girl with water and the windows cracked — but not parked in the shade, despite temperatures soaring to 97 degrees in Galena Park on Tuesday.
“I don’t know if anyone checked on the child throughout the day,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told a press conference of the mom’s shift from 6 a.m. until she found the girl around 2 p.m.
“A 9-year-old beautiful little girl has lost her life by no fault of her own.”
The mother was detained on Tuesday but released the next day as investigators await autopsy results, the sheriff’s office told ABC 13, saying it is continuing to investigate before any charges are filed.
It was not clear why the mom — who has not been identified — left her daughter in the car while she worked her shift at United States Gypsum on Tuesday, the sheriff said, stressing that there could be no justification.
“It’s never acceptable to leave a child in the car,” he said, adding of the mom: “You can be sympathetic to her situation.”
It is illegal to leave a child in a car unattended in Texas, one of 21 states that have similar laws in place.
“The point is that the risk of death or harm — there’s just no reconciling that in my mind at a personal level. You’ve got to make other arrangements, whether it be with your employer,” the sheriff said.
“It’s just not worth it to put a child at risk like this for any particular reason. If you have hardships, by all means, work with neighbors, family, and social service agencies.”
On average, around 37 children die each year in the US due to heatstroke from being left in hot cars, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
United States Gypsum confirmed that “a medical emergency occurred … involving the child of an employee.”
“Our thoughts are with the family of the child and all those impacted,” USG Corp. spokesperson Kathleen Prause said.
United States Gypsum confirmed that “a medical emergency occurred … involving the child of an employee.”
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