2-year-old girl dies after being left inside hot van as temperature touches 80 degrees in Lindenwold
CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY: A two-year-old girl was found dead on Friday, August 16, after being left in a hot minivan at a PATCO parking lot in Lindenwold, officials said.
This comes as high temperatures on Friday afternoon reached the upper 80s in the area.
Emergency service was called to the scene on Friday afternoon and attempts were made to resuscitate the child, said Mike Williams, a spokesman for the Delaware River Port Authority, which operates the rail line.
However, the child could not be resuscitated by first responders and was rushed to a nearby hospital, as per the news release released by PATCO.
The girl was spotted in the van by a passerby around 2:30 p.m. The family came back to the car just before 5:30 p.m, CBS Local reported.
"The incident is in the very early stages of its investigation and no further information is being released at this time," said Alexandra McVeigh, spokeswoman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
PATCO President John Hanson said the baby was inside the car for an unknown number of hours and police were trying to locate the vehicle owner.
The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the death and the DRPA is assisting with the investigation.
The car was covered with plastic sheets away from the glare of reporters and commuters, as the investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office worked at the scene. Later, a crime scene tape was used to enclose the parking lot.
This is the second time this year that a child was found dead in a vehicle in New Jersey.
Earlier in May, a 21-month-old child was found dead in a car after being left in a vehicle outside a home for 2.5 hours in Lakewood, Ocean County.
The child’s mother was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Lindenwold is the last stop in New Jersey for PATCO, which connects Camden County and Philadelphia and receives a footfall of 10.5 million riders annually.