A North Carolina woman was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter this week after police say she left her 8-year-old daughter in a hot car, causing her death.
At around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers responded to a medical emergency call and found the unnamed victim inside a car in critical condition.
She was taken to the hospital and eventually pronounced dead due to brain herniation from overheating, according to ABC News.
Police did not say how long she had been in the car.
Her mother, Ashlee Stallings, 36, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. She is being held with a $250,000 bond.
Temperatures in Charlotte were in the mid-90s Wednesday. In an arrest affidavit, law enforcement accused Ms. Stallings of leaving her daughter in the car while she went to work at an Amazon facility, according to CBS News.
Ms. Stallings told police that she had left the air on inside the car but that her daughter may have turned it off because she got cold. She last heard from her daughter via text 90 minutes before she returned to the car to find her daughter lying unconscious on the backseat floor.
“This is an incredibly tragic incident. During this difficult time, we’re supporting our employees and have made counseling resources widely available. We’re also working closely with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department as they investigate,” Amazon told WSOC-TV.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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