11-Month-Old Girl Found Deceased In Hot Car In Ellis County
BARDWELL, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The Ellis County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Thursday that last Friday, June 21, an 11-month-old girl was found deceased in a hot vehicle.
Deputies responded to a call about an unresponsive child in the 500 block of Elm Street in Bardwell, around 5:15 p.m.
The high temperature that day in Bardwell was 94 degrees around 4:00 p.m.
The Sheriff's Department said the deputies immediately began CPR and continued until paramedics arrived.
Once medics were on scene medical staff soon decided to stop CPR as the child was declared deceased.
The child was taken to the Dallas Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy.
The Ellis County Criminal Investigations Division will conduct an investigation into the death of the child, with help from the Texas Rangers.
No other details have been released on the circumstances surrounding the child being found in the car and there's no word on if anyone will face charges.
At least three Texas children have died in hot cars this month, all in a three-day span, including a 4-year-old in Providence Village near Aubrey on Thursday, June 20.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit advocacy group KidsAndCars.org is pushing for change.
They've been working for decades to increase awareness; but, now readily admit that knowledge is not enough.
"It keep happening because no one things it will happen to them," says Amber Rollins, with KidsAndCars.Org.
The group says Texas ranks #1 in the nation based on the number of child hot car deaths with 128 fatalities since 1991. Last year, they shared, was the worst year in history for child hot car deaths with a total of 52 nationwide.
KidsAndCars.org staffers are encouraging the public to push for lawmakers to pass the HOT CARS Act.
It's a federal bill which would require technology in all vehicles to help prevent these fatalities.
Until then, the group urges parents to place something that they will need for the day in the back seat with the child-- a purse, a tablet, even a shoe.
"Who knew that it would have happened here in Bardwell?" asks Bailey sadly. "Who knew? And it just breaks your heart."
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