Couple's only child after six miscarriages dies in hot car after babysitter 'forgets' to drop her at nursery and leaves her in rear seat for hours
Babysitter Tammy Brooks, 40, was supposed to drop off infant Zariah Hasheme at her daycare facility. But she forgot and drove straight to work in the city of Hobbs, New Mexico on the morning of September 17. Zariah was then left in the car for several hours with temperatures soaring to 30 degrees Centigrade. Brooks only realized that Zariah was still in the backseat when she had to go to the bank that afternoon.
Hobbs Police said they received a call around 1.30 pm from a woman (later identified as Brooks) who said she had left a child "accidentally" in her car for several hours. When the local rescue team reached the spot they declared Zariah dead at the scene.
Zariah was the only child of Zachary Hasheme and Demi Petrowski. The couple had six miscarriages before Zariah was born, just when they had given up hope.
"I would not wish this pain and this hurt upon my worst enemy," said Zariah Hasheme's mother, Demi Petrowski. She asked people to "always look at the backseat of the car, and if there is a child in there or you hear a child screaming, please just - you know, help." She also asked daycare centers to be more alert and contact parents or listed emergency numbers if a child did not show up at the appointed time.
Stephanie Wilkinson, a relative, has set up a GoFundMe page for the family to take care of the immediate funeral and living expenses as the parents grieve their child. According to the national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org, Zariah is the 42nd child to die in a hot car this year in the U.S. The organization now wants Congress to pass the 'Hot Cars' Act that will make it mandatory to install 'rear occupant alarm' technology in cars.
After the bill was introduced, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio had said: "No child should endure the tragedy of dying while trapped in a hot vehicle. The unfortunate reality is that even good, loving and attentive parents can get distracted."
Brooks was taken into custody and is being held at the Hobbs Country Detention Centre. She has been charged with "abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death," which is a first-degree felony. She will appear in court on September 23.