An 11-month-old baby girl died last week after being found unresponsive inside a car in Bardwell.
Deputies with the Ellis County Sheriff's Department were called at about 5:15 p.m. Friday, June 21 to assist with an unresponsive child found in a vehicle at a home on the 500 block of Elm Street.
When deputies arrived, the child was not breathing and they immediately began CPR. The deputies continued CPR until paramedics arrived, who then determined to cease resuscitation efforts.
High temperatures on Friday were in the mid 90s, with a heat index close to 105°.
Ellis County Justice of the Peace Judge Dan Cox pronounced the child deceased and ordered an inquest.
The child was taken to the Dallas Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy. The Ellis County Criminal Investigations Division is investigating the death and is being assisted by the Texas Rangers. Officials said the investigation is ongoing and that more information would be released at a later time.
The child is the second of three suspected hot car deaths reported in Texas this week. On June 20, a 4-year-old in Providence Village was found unresponsive in a car and died days later. On June 22, an 18-month-old toddler was found unresponsive in a car and Galveston and later died at the hospital.
According to the National Safety Council, if it's 95 degrees outside the internal temperature of a car could climb to 129 degrees in 30 minutes. After just 10 minutes, temperatures inside could reach 114 degrees.
A child's body temperature heats up three to five times faster than an adult and heatstroke can begin when a person's core body temperature reaches 104 degrees. A core temperature of 107 degrees is lethal, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
