BUCKEYE, AZ — A 3-year-old girl died Sunday after being found unresponsive in a vehicle in Buckeye.
Officials were called to a home near Verrado Way and McDowell Road around 5 p.m. after family members found a 3-year-old girl in a car.
Family told investigators that the family had returned home from the park some time after 2 p.m. They believed that everyone had gotten out of the car.
Later, when family members couldn't find the girl, they ultimately looked inside the vehicle and located her.
First responders attempted CPR on the girl before she was taken to a hospital where she died.
The temperature in Buckeye was 106°F - 107°F between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Police say that nobody has been taken into custody in connection to this incident.
This incident is under investigation.
According to Kids and Car Safety, at least 47 children have died in hot cars in Arizona since 1994, making the state 4th in the country when it comes to child hot car deaths.
A law passed in 2017 gives residents the power to break another person's car window if they meet certain criteria.
Those requirements include:
- The good Samaritan has a good faith belief the child or pet is in imminent danger
- The vehicle is locked and there’s no other way of removing the victim exists except to break into the vehicle.
- The rescuer must call 9-1-1 or first responders before breaking into a vehicle.
- They cannot use more force than necessary.
- That person must remain on scene until first responders arrive.
Editor's note: Officials first identified the child as being 4 years old, but later corrected the age to 3 years old.
